Two Of A Kind
by TheDanni0608
Summary: But what if Merlin was put into the position where he had to tell Morgana the truth right from the beginning? How would the story unfold from then on? Starts from 1x08, AU. Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Gwen and most friendships that are canon to Merlin.
1. Chapter 1

Merlin walked down the all too familiar corridor that lead to Arthur's chambers. It had been a few months since he was first _awarded_ to be servant of the great prince of Camelot. Merlin half-heartedly laughed at the thought.

"He's still a dollop head."

He smiled to himself as he remembered Arthur's reaction the first time he had called him that. He breathed a content sigh as he looked outside the windows. Things had been quiet in Camelot. There hadn't been any planned attacks from random bandits, no attempts to kill Uther or Arthur, and not one single sign of sorcery for that matter. Merlin frowned at the thought. It was almost too quie-

"_Ahhhhhhh!_"

A piercing yell shrieked through Merlin's head. He automatically stopped walking and looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the scream. The corridor was empty; the only movement being his chest, which was heaving up and down rapidly. There was no one? But he was so sure- No. He grimaced, that was no ordinary scream. That was… _Inside_ his head. Merlin began to sprint in the direction of the scream, eager to see what could have caused such a frightening yell.

He ran for all he was worth. Anything that could yell like that was worrisome.

He quickly cut round a corner and bumped into something… Or someone, he couldn't tell.

"_Ow_."

Merlin opened his eyes, his head swimming. Since when had he fallen to the floor? He picked himself up and briefly brushed off his clothing before he noticed just _who_ he had bumped into.

"I-I- I'm sorry, Milady." He stuttered as he offered a hand to none other than the Lady Morgana.

"No, that's quite alright," she replied gravelly, obviously not happy to be pummelled to the floor. She looked up to see who the person was. Her expression softened, "Merlin?"

"I'm very sorry, Milady, but y'know…" Merlin trailed off, standing uncomfortably as he tried to think of an excuse for sprinting down the corridors like that.

"Arthur's duties?" Morgana assumed. Merlin very quickly nodded. "Yes, very well." She stepped aside for him, a soft smile on her face. Merlin took that excuse to his advantage and nodded,

"Thank you, Milady," and with that he continued to walk. Bumping into Morgana only made him more agitated and worried. What if he was too late? That thought only made him pace faster. As soon as he rounded another corner, knowing Morgana was out of sight, he began to sprint again.

**/Merlin\\**

He had looked everywhere he could think of but couldn't find the source of the scream_. __**Maybe I had imagined it?**_No, he shook that thought away. He couldn't possibly have imagined that, it felt so _real_-the pain, the terror and the _fear_.

As much as Merlin wanted to find the very person, he just possibly couldn't. All the chores took up most of his day, if not all of it. So unless he wanted a sword through his head, or Gaius' famous arched eyebrow looking at him all afternoon, he had to continue with his day.

It was only five hours after had he finally finished _half_ of his chores. He cleaned Arthur's armour, cleared out the stables and finally helped Arthur at training session- and the word help meaning becoming a _live target_. It was still midday and he still had loads of chores to do, not including Gaius' 'remedy run'. He sighed to himself as he walked down yet another corridor.

'_Help'. _A voice echoed inside his head. Merlin stopped. It was the same voice as before. He frowned and decided to ignore it.

He walked out of the main entrance and onto the grounds. His face was still scrunched up_, __**where is that voice coming from? **_He walked down a few steps,

'_Help Me'. _The same voice echoed in his mind again. Merlin looked around the grounds, trying to find any signs of... Well, anything out the ordinary.

'_Please, help me'. _Merlin tried to look even harder. Everything was normal, civilians walked around with their possessions; the occasional knight walked the pathway. Merlin sighed frustrated until he saw something.

Across the yard was a young boy, Merlin had guessed no older than ten, scrunched up behind a basket. He looked right at Merlin, his piercing blue eyes compelling him, drawing him in. He felt something in the young boys gaze. Hope? Trust? No. Merlin looked right back at the boy, his head turned to the side as he observed him. He wore a navy blue cloak; his hair was as black as night and he had a strong yet innocent face. And then that's when Merlin realised what made him stand out, that made him realise it was _him_ calling Merlin. And that was the amount of fear in his eyes.

'_Please, you have to help me'. _The young boy pleaded. Merlin continued to look at the boy. _**It's him, that's the voice inside my head.**_The boy looked at Merlin with a scared expression, it was clear he was hiding, but from who?

As if on cue, many armed knights entered the courtyard, their expressions not too friendly. Merlin listened to one of the knight's talk to a man.

"Oi, you. Have you seen a young boy run around here?" The knight questioned sternly, his face red, probably from a great deal of running Merlin guessed. Then it hit him. The boy. He was running from them, the guards. Merlin looked back at the boy suspiciously.

'_They are searching for me'. _The boy stated with a hint of worry in his voice- or his mind, even. Merlin took another step on the stairs.

'_Why are they searching for you?' _Merlin replied through telepathy. Merlin's face softened as he realised just how easy it was to do that, as if it was a natural talent.

The boy closed his eyes and gulped. _'They are going to __**kill**__ me'. _He replied frantically, hoping that Merlin would help him.

Merlin saw one of the guards enter another room.

"Guards, in here!" He ordered his other men. The other knights soon did as commanded, leaving the court knight-free. Merlin looked around for an escape route and noticed a door at the back; he ran to it quickly and opened the door ready. He looked back to check for any signs of guards or knights. Happy that there was none he looked back at the helpless boy.

'_Come, follow me,'_ Merlin said in his mind to the young boy. The young boy in reply scrunched his eye brows, unsure. Merlin breathed hastily, checking again to see for any knights. At that moment it was now or never. _'Run!'_ The young boy picked up from the floor and clung to his right arm as he ran to Merlin.

A guard must have kept watch as he unsheathed his sword and shouted,

"The boy, he's here!"

Merlin look alarmed. If he was to get caught, he grimaced at the thought. He stepped into the room and waited for the boy, realisation finally hit him. _**The King will have my head if I'm caught**_**.** That thought was completely forgotten when the boy caught up to him. Merlin attempted a reassuring smile as they both ran indoors and up some stairs. Merlin clung onto his hand as they reached the top of the stairs, the guard's yells not far behind. Merlin gulped as he looked around the room.

Merlin paused, and then realised there was only one possible way to hide. He clutched onto the boy's hand harder as they sprinted up narrow stairs. Merlin didn't think to knock as he thrashed through the nearest door.

"Have you forgotten how to knock, Merlin?!" Morgana asked agitated with a cup in her hand. Merlin looked at Gwen and Morgana pleadingly, he noticed they must have been talking but that had to wait. Merlin's breathing was erratic and his hand was sweaty from holding onto the boy's.

"The guards are after him. I didn't know what to do," he quickly admitted, pointing to his new young companion. Again, he attempted another reassuring smile toward the boy. Gwen looked at Morgana, waiting for her call. Morgana then looked at the young boy, her expression questioning as she looked into his eyes. There was a loud knock on her door.

"Milady?" A hoarse voice was heard from behind the door. Morgana continued to look at the boy, her eyebrows furrowed at the weird connection she soon had for him. There was a strange tension, a tingling sort of sensation that she kind of liked and craved more of. Merlin looked at Morgana more urgently; bringing Morgana to the real life world again.

She looked around her room,

"I-In there," she said, pointing to the back of the room. Morgana would have found it normal to see Merlin nod to her as thanks, but the way he looked at her, like she was doing the biggest favour in the world. It made her heart beat. It was something more than about hiding the young boy, it was a look of trust and recognition, like their friendship had grown a lot stronger just by something so simple.

Once they was in the back of the room, Morgana had given the room a once over, making sure there would be no reason for the guards to be suspicious. One last approving nod from Gwen and Morgana had opened the door.

"Sorry to disturb you milady, but we're searching for a young druid boy. We believe he came this way," he informed, a hand held around his sword.

At the back of the room, waiting and hiding silently, was Merlin and the young boy. Without any warning the boy had then fallen into Merlin's arms; Merlin clung onto him quickly not letting him fall to the ground. The boy's eyes rolled to the back of his head, Merlin panicked, what was he meant to do?

"I haven't seen anyone," Morgana simply replied with a convincing smile. "It's just me and my maid." She offered, turning to give a simple smile to Gwen, who in response waved to the guards.

The guard almost looked disappointed at the scene. "Just keep the door locked until we find him."

"Of course, thank you." Morgana said before she shut the door. She and Gwen glanced at each other and then hurried to the back of the room where an unconscious boy was held in Merlin's arms. Both Gwen and Morgana bent down next to the boy. Merlin frowned as he a felt odd stickiness on his hand. Without looking at the other two women present, he lifted his hand to reveal blood, and lots of it. Morgana gasped and looked at Merlin worriedly.

**/Merlin\\**

It had been a few hours since Merlin and the young boy had entered Morgana's room- pleading help for her to hide them. When it was revealed the young boy was hurt Morgana wouldn't leave the boy's sight. Morgana wouldn't be lying if she said she was almost a little concerned at how quickly she had cared for the young boy. She gulped at the thought. There was something about him that brought out her vulnerability- like if anything was to happen to him she would automatically feel responsible...

Merlin looked out of Morgana's window, watching the execution of, what he guessed, was the young boy's mentor. Merlin felt a pang of hurt in his chest. If his and the boy's roles were reversed he wouldn't know what he would do. If _Gaius_ were the one to be executed then- he stopped. He couldn't afford to think of such things. He calmed down slightly when he looked at Morgana, who was stood only a few centimetres away from him. He acknowledged by then that she would normally be stood on the balcony with Uther and Arthur watching the execution. Morgana had told him she used the excuse that she was not feeling too well and couldn't take part. Like it was some sort of _show_.

Merlin smiled softly. That was just how he saw her for the first time- up in that very window, witnessing yet another execution of his kind. He breathed out heavily, if only magic wasn't banned from Camelot. If only he could use it freely and not have to worry about being sentenced to death.

"Thank you," he breathed out quietly, looking back to the crowd down below. He could feel Morgana's stare and couldn't resist but look at her expression. She was frowning at him, obviously clueless to what he was thanking her for. "For helping me before. I'm sure it's a large burden because of you being the Kings ward-"

"I knew exactly what I was getting into Merlin," she stated and then looked back at the boy who was resting against the wall, "there's no need to thank me." Her voice was a lot softer that time.

Merlin continued to stare at her, not quite sure what to think of the Lady Morgana. It was earlier that day he had accidentally bumped into her like some stranger and now here she was helping him keep the child hidden from Uther's men, like a true friend.

A few moments had past and he felt Morgana tense next to him. Merlin looked up to see Cerdan had spoken. Merlin saw how fearless he was of death; how even then, with no chance of escape, Cerdan stayed confident in fact, he almost looked proud. Morgana looked up at Merlin, her face etched with worry for the young boy and for both of them and Gwen. If Uther was to find out they were the ones hiding away the boy they would both be punished- Merlin and Gwen more than her. She moved just a tiny bit closer to him, enough for her dress to scrape against his hand.

"And let your fear of magic turn to hate... I pity you." Cerdan announced as he was pushed into leaning his head against a block of wood. Morgana shook her head,

"I can't watch this." She turned and walked over to the boy, holding onto him and trying to comfort him. Merlin stayed put, watched as Uther raised his arms signalling to be ready and dropped it. Merlin instantly turned, the sight too much. Cerdan was dead.

"_**NO!**_" Merlin heard the boy scream inside his head. It was so loud and angry; Merlin clutched his hands to his head and closed his eyes. The mirror only a few inches away from him broke into tiny pieces. Once it was all over Merlin's eyes opened in shock as he looked back at the boy. His chest was heaving and Morgana still clung onto him. She looked up at Merlin with worried expressions. It was only then did Merlin realise that Morgana too looked terrified. _**Did she hear the scream too?**_

**/Merlin\\ **

Merlin poked his porridge with his spoon, too distracted by other things to concentrate on eating. Gaius was at the other end of the room, sorting out books and potions that were lying astray. Merlin frowned at his meal as he continued to think of the same question once again. Did Morgana also hear the scream? If she did then… The thought made Merlin smile. Was it possible he wasn't the only one in Camelot with magic?

"What are you smiling about?" Gaius asked as he observed a purple potion fizzle in a glass container. Merlin automatically stopped smiling as he continued to poke at his porridge.

"I wasn't smiling," he quickly answered, avoiding Gaius' now entertained face. He put down the potion and picked up a large brown book.

"Very well, then."

Neither of them spoke for a while, and Merlin couldn't stand the quietness. So he sighed and looked up from his porridge.

"Do you know much of the Druids?" Merlin tried to ask in a nonchalant way, which going by Gaius' suspicious expression, didn't work too well.

"Very little. They're very secretive people. Especially now they're being hunted by Uther." He paused to look at Merlin's saddened expression and stopped everything he was doing to point at Merlin accusingly. "Please tell me you haven't got yourself mixed up in this."

Merlin accidentally dropped some of the porridge on his lap at the suggestion. He huffed as he picked up a cloth from the table.

"Me? No. Mixed up in what?"

Gaius moved closer to the table and narrowed his eyes.

"For someone with such a big secret, you are a terrible liar," he expressed as he pulled out a chair opposite Merlin and sat on it.

"Well I haven't done anything."

"Merlin…" Gaius warned. Merlin knew that _that_ specific tone was when he didn't cross the line; he looked back down to his porridge.

"I heard the boy calling out," he admitted with a sigh. "He was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear him, like he was inside my head… "

"Yes, I've heard of this ability," Gaius admitted as he nodded his head. "The Druids look for children with such gifts to serve as apprentices. While they're searching for this boy, you must be especially careful otherwise it'll be _your_ head on the chopping block." He warned, but Merlin just gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm always careful. You know me." Gaius raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, as careful as bumping into women in corridors." Gaius countered with a smile. Merlin's happy smile suddenly turned to a frown.

"W-What? I haven-"

"Morgana came in earlier. She had a cut on her arm; she wouldn't tell me who caused it. Just that she bumped into somebody." He looked at him accusingly. Merlin's mouth was left agape.

"S-So you automatically think that just because somebody bumped into someone it was me?" Merlin asked a little hurt. Gaius laughed,

"Well who else could it be?" Merlin scrunched up his face,

"Arthur." He responded, quickly regretting his answer as soon as the words flew out his mouth. Gaius looked at Merlin with an amused smile and accusing eyebrow. _**How is it possible to make your face have that sort of… Face? **_Merlin huffed, a sign that he had given up making excuses.

"Was it a bad cut?"

"Nothing life threatening," Gaius admitted as he rose from the chair and walked back over to the potion filled desk. Merlin sighed in relief. "But you're going to have to deliver a remedy I've made for her- to ease away the pain a bit. And a sleeping draft, poor girl's suffering nightmares again."

Merlin nodded and continued to eat away his porridge, before the on-going nag of the same question kept him from eating.

"Gaius?" He called out.

"Yes Merlin."

Merlin took a while to respond. _**Should I tell him? If Morgana has magic then surely that's a good thing, right?**_ He took a deep breath before replying. _**But wait. Gaius doesn't know we're hiding the boy**_**. **Merlin thought harder about that fact. Should that have stopped him from telling Gaius? Merlin sighed,_**I think the last thing he needs right now is to know that I **_**have**_** gotten mixed into the middle of this.**_

"Errr," Merlin responded cleverly. Gaius turned around to look at him,

"Merlin?"

"Y'know what," he rose from the dinner table and pushed the bowl aside. He needed to talk to Morgana, or at least check she was okay, seeming he now knew that he hurt her. "I think I'm just going to take a walk." He lied as he jogged up into his bedroom to collect his brown jacket. Gaius watched him with a frown,

"A walk?" Gaius repeated.

Merlin stopped in front of his father like figure,

"It's… Soothing." Merlin felt like head banging his head off the table. _**Soothing?**_ "A-And besides, I'm going to have to go to Arthur's chambers later anyway," he added, hoping not to raise any suspicion, but he knew Gaius knew him too well to hide anything from him. So to not have to look Gaius in the eyes, he walked towards the door in a fast pace- but before he shut the door behind him...

"_Merlin_." Merlin closed his eyes; he thought he had gotten away. He gulped and popped his head around the door, only to see Gaius shuffle things around on his desk. He then turned back round to him with some objects in his hands. "Take these with you." Gaius then threw two separate glass bottles his way- one green, one blue. "Tell her to take only two mouthfuls of the green one and only one of the purple, anymore and I don't think the Kings ward would be able to get up the following morning."

Merlin nodded and gave him a large smile. He should have known Gaius would have guessed he was going to see Morgana.

"I'll see you later Gaius."

**/Merlin\\**

Merlin knocked onto Morgana's door. He'd just prepared Arthur's room for the Prince's _'night slumber'_ so he didn't know whether or not Morgana would still be awake. He'd have gotten there earlier if it wasn't for Arthur talking to him about how he 'specifically needs to polish his armour'- **'you need to be more delicate **_**Mer**_**lin, otherwise the armour will just scratch'**. Merlin, at that time, was too distracted about getting to Morgana's chambers that he didn't respond. Meaning he had to sit through another speech about how he **'needs to listen when being talked to.'**

Merlin must have been too heavy in his thoughts- _**what difference does it make if the armour's scratched, I'm sure the bandits won't mind when their trying to kill him**_- to have caught Gwen staring at him with a soft smile on her face, standing next to Morgana's door. She coughed politely, dragging him from his thoughts; he looked at Gwen and instantly blushed.

"Err... Sorry," he responded, a little embarrassed at being caught day dreaming. "Is-Is Morgana awake?" He tried to look past Gwen to see if he could see Morgana through the bedroom, until Gwen's reaction caught his attention- her smile had slowly left her face and turned more into a worried look.

"She's in the back, trying to get the boy to sleep." She paused and looked down to the floor, Merlin's face slackened and his brow furrowed as he listened to Gwen. "He's not getting any better… And Morgana won't sleep until she knows he's okay. I've cleaned his bandages, but that's all I can do Merlin." She then bit onto her bottom lip; Merlin could see that Gwen obviously had some connection with the boy too- they all did, if he was honest- even he had some affection for the boy. He breathed out heavily and nodded, putting a hand on Gwen's arm reassuringly. He had to stay strong for her, for all of them.

"He's going to be fine, Gwen. Trust me. We'll just see how he is in the morning, okay?" He comforted. That must have boosted Gwen's confidence a bit as she straightened her back and wiped away any tears that were apparent. Merlin gave her a friendly smile and she smiled back. Gwen and Merlin had been friends for a while now- always helping each other if the other was troubled or just having a friendly conversation about how much of a clot pole Arthur was- which he noticed Gwen never denied nor agreed. But Gwen knew that Merlin would never lie to her, so to hear him say the boy would be fine was a huge relief.

"I've got to go home; there are some things that need doing," she smiled that lovely smile Merlin learned to cherish and love. "Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin nodded.

And with that Gwen walked past him, leaving Merlin to stand alone by the open door. He turned to see if anyone was behind him and happy to know he wasn't followed or wasn't being watched, he knocked on the door once more, poking his head through.

"Morgana?" He whispered, looking around the room for the lady herself. The room was lit only by the few candles that flickered on her bedside table. He smiled when he noticed movement in the back of the room. Slowly, without trying to make a sound, he walked up to the back of the room. When he looked around the corner his heart felt like it had stopped. Morgana was lying next to the boy, her arm around his shoulders protectively as she let him fall asleep in her arms. Merlin felt almost like an intruder. He didn't want to spoil such a nice scene. It was only when Morgana began to slowly lift her arm from around the boy and place him on the pillows that were set out for him, that he realised he was here for a reason. "Knock, knock." Merlin whispered, noticing Morgana tense as soon as he said it. She turned quickly her expression shocked. It was only when she saw the familiar red scarf that she closed her eyes and breathed out shakily.

"Merlin, do you want me to have a heart attack?" She whispered sternly as she turned back to the boy. Happy that he was in a comfortable position she rose up and walked slowly towards Merlin.

"N-No, milady. I'm sorry." He replied instantly, a little too loudly.

"Shhh." Morgana immediately shushed him, raising her finger to her lips. Merlin looked at her a bit shocked. She sighed, "I've only just got him to sleep." Morgana motioned for them to go around the wall and more into her bedroom.

Merlin knew it was rude to, but he looked around. Morgana certainly had a taste of style. _**And exactly how many pillows does she own?**_ His thoughts were snapped back when he turned to see Morgana looking at him expectantly. He frowned and his mouth made an O shape as he realised what he was meant to do. He turned a brown shabby bag to the side and opened it up, shuffling and trying to find something specific, Morgana watched him with a raised eyebrow. He smiled as he got the two bottles that Gaius had given him out of his bag- _**thank God for the extension spell.**_

"These are from Gaius. He said to take three mouthfuls of the purple one and then two of the green one." He smiled as he past the two coloured bottles to her. His face scrunched up, "oh, wait. Or is it the opposite way round?" He stopped and looked at the bottles, trying to remember what Gaius told him.

"Thank you Merlin, hopefully Gwen won't find my dead body tomorrow because of an overdose of potions, which _you_ got wrong." She said with a role of her eyes as she sat on her bed. Merlin was too busy in thought trying to remember Gaius' instructions that he didn't hear that comment. A wide smile appeared on his face,

"No, it was two green. One purple," he remembered, smiling happily to himself. Morgana then stared at him and then back to the bottles. Her face wasn't convinced; she looked at the bottles with a frown.

"Are you sure?"

"Nice to know you have so much faith in me, milady," Merlin spoken sarcastically. Morgana gave a mocking expression at the comment and drank from the green bottle. Her face scrunched up in disgust when she pulled it away from her mouth, placing the bottle on her wooden desk along with many other objects placed there. Merlin noticed how the room was then lit with a pleasant shade of green because of the glass colour being reflected off the lit candles. It made the room look more tasteful, more soothing and calm, and made Morgana's eyes look even more stunning- _**wait what?**_ Merlin's face scrunched up as he realised what he had just thought. Feeling awkward he attempted to move just a tiny bit further away from her-_**And since when did I sit next to her? **_

Morgana, completely oblivious to Merlin's thoughts, then drank from the purple bottle and placed it next to the green one- making the room then turn a mahogany shade.

"I also got these for you too, for this morning." Merlin then revealed a bunch of beautiful lilac coloured flowers- which he had managed to hide away in his bag- _**again, thank you extension charm**_- using magic until he got to her chambers. Morgana's eyebrows lifted at the gift. They really were truly gorgeous. She took them from Merlin's hands and took a sniff. She beamed; they smelled just as good as they looked.

"Thank you, Merlin."

"No problem, milady."

"Please, call me Morgana," she replied with a smile that made Merlin feel all giddy inside. He nodded back with a smile as joyful as hers, until he noticed Morgana looked toward the back of the room when she thought he wasn't looking. He breathed out heavily,

"How is he?" He asked, his voice more serious than before. Morgana looked down at the floor,

"He's pale. I'm worried he's lost a lot of blood." Merlin licked his lips and breathed out heavily,

"Has he said anything at all?"

"Nothing. He won't even tell me his name."

Merlin puckered his lips while in thought and then breathily laughed, shaking his head. He saw Morgana's puzzled expression. _**How can he find any of this funny?**_

"It's weird…" He finally spoke, looking at the floor, a smile still on his face. "How, earlier…" The smile didn't falter as he looked back up at Morgana, her expression still puzzled. "I-I thought you were going to hand us over to the guards." The corners of her lips curved into a hidden smile,

"Nice to know you have so much faith in me, Merlin." She repeated his words from before, her face looking at him with a mischievous look.

"No, no, sorry." He apologised, shaking his head. He closed his eyes trying to think of something to say, "Erm, like I said before, you're the King's ward. You're taking a huge risk helping the boy." He tilted his head to the side, looking at Morgana with… Pride?

"I wouldn't see an innocent child executed. What harm has he ever done anyone?" She argued, frowning as she looked to the back of the room again. Merlin gulped,

"Uther believes he has magic, and that makes him guilty." Merlin stated, interested to see what her response would be. He looked to the floor just to make sure it looked like he wasn't too interested in magic. _**Maybe she doesn't have magic? Maybe she was just shocked at the broken glass earlier. **_

"Uther's wrong."

Merlin looked up, his face softened as he tried to read her thoughts.

"You believe that?" He watched as she paused for a few moments. Maybe she didn't trust him enough. But before that thought could nag Merlin further-

"What if… Magic isn't something you choose? What if it chooses you?"

Merlin couldn't help but be taken back by that little confession. Even if she didn't have magic, she wasn't against it. That made Merlin's heart flutter and his stomach to twist and turn. He still couldn't tell whether Morgana had magic or not, but he didn't care, she was one of the first people in Camelot to say the truth of magic- that you can't help be who you are. He smiled a happy genuine grin as he watched the King's ward question something that could change the whole of Camelot. She frowned as she noticed his expression,

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She questioned, though her voice was concerned, Merlin still noticed the questioning small smile apparent on her face. His smile was instantly dropped.

"Nothing."

Morgana was going to press onto him, but thought that she would leave it- it was a delicate enough conversation as it was.

"Why are _you_ helping him?" She looked at him, her head tilt to the side as Merlin did before. He breathed heavily through his nose.

"It was a spur of the moment decision." He confessed, which wasn't far from the truth. Morgana gazed at him, her face had the tiniest of a smile and her chin was lowered so he could see the gratitude in her eyes. "What do you think we should do to him? He can't stay here."

Morgana rose from her bed and slowly made her way to the door,

"We have to find a way to get him back to his people," she concluded as she looked down at Merlin who was still seated on her bed. He nodded in agreement and also made his way to the door.

"Well… I best get back." He slowly opened the door and looked back at Morgana, who was looking at him with an expression his couldn't quite work out. Before the door fully closed he heard Morgana whisper,

"Thank you, Merlin."

**/Merlin\\**

**So there we go, there's my first chapter. This is probably quite short compared to the other chapters I'm going to write. So, if you don't long chapters then I'm sorry. I've only been watching Merlin since last month, I've seen all the episodes and I instantly fell in love with Merlin and Morgana. This will be a long Mergana series, so.. Stay tuned? **

**If you have any questions, or any comments you'd like to say, then put them in a review and I'd be sure to answer very quickly. I always try to get all my grammar and punctuation correct before publishing chapters and I hope that I write all the character's **_**in**_** character. So thank you for reading, and I hope you either follow the story or favourite it.**

**Updates will be up to every 4-6 days. **


	2. Believed in the dress excuse?

Morgana absentmindedly brushed at the loose strands of her fine hair while in deep thought. She had tried as hard as she could to not raise any suspicion of her knowing where the Druid boy was, acting as if she had nothing to hide_. __**Like hiding the boy in my room is nothing to hide.**_ It was easier than planned to lie to the King (something she had kept in mind), but convincing Arthur otherwise was a challenge. She knew Arthur was doubtful.

_The Druids would see your father's kingdom destroyed._

She grimaced at the memory, remembering Arthur's taken back and rather quizzical expression at her remark, even Uther at the time looked shocked at her declaration. Which begged the question, _**does Uther know of my understanding for magical beings?**_ Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought. She didn't mean a word of what she had said though. The Druids were peaceful people, they never purposely- or even accidentally-attacked Camelot or its people, so what was the reason of executing an innocent young boy?

Her grip on the wooden brush in her hand had tightened; she never understood Uther's ways. _**Why kill innocent beings?**_ She looked up to the mirror placed in front of her table, still broken and shattered from days ago, it only made her blood boil more. The Druid boy's mentor had died at the hands of Uther Pendragon; she understood what the boy was going through, the fury, and the distraught of having lost a loved one.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It wasn't easy to love someone who was filled with so much _hate_.

She continued to breathe in and out soothingly while brushing her hair; Gwen had muttered the day before about worrying for her father's wellbeing- as he would work for hours on end every day and barely get any sleep. Morgana felt more than obligated to give her the morning off- _**I can take care of myself.**_ So, with the absence of her maid, it gave her a bit more time to herself, something that was hard to come by those days- even if she wasn't alone, _per say._

_Knock, knock. _

Morgana looked toward the door, _**have I been expecting anybody?**_

Picking up her dress as she walked along her bedroom floor, she studied the room briefly, no sign that a Druid boy had been apparent. She brushed the hair from her eyes as she opened the door gracefully, offering that well practised smile she had perfected from being the King's ward. The smile softened as she was greeted with a red scarf and well defined cheekbones.

"Merlin." Morgana's silvery voice rang through the servants ears. He bowed his head,

"I came to… Check up on the boy," he admitted, keeping his voice down low and quiet- just loud enough for her to hear, in case of any unexpected guests. She nodded simply in return and offered him to come in. Merlin sauntered confidently to the back of the room where the boy was kept. Merlin frowned at the sight of him- turned out he looked even worse. The olive looking skin had turned almost deathly ghost pale while immeasurable amounts of sweat had covered all his forehead and heaving bare chest. Merlin automatically placed his hand on his forehead,

"He's burning up!" He announced, his voice alarmed as he turned to look at Morgana, who was watching him and the boy restlessly from behind the wall. "How long has he been like this?" Morgana moved from the wall and crouched down beside Merlin, reaching out for the boy's hands nervously.

"Since early this morning. I think his wound may be infected," her face etched with worry and her voice brittle. Merlin inspected the rest of the boy's body, "we need Gaius before it gets any worse."

_**Gaius? **_

"No," he stated flatly. "We can't involve Gaius. It's too dangerous. Besides, if he finds out about this, he'll execute me himself." Merlin admitted, imagining the look on Gaius' face if he had told him, he shuddered,

"Well, we need to get him out of Camelot, and we can't do that while he's sick, he needs a physician."

"I'll treat him." He heard Morgana laugh harshly from behind, followed by her footsteps. Merlin took one last look at the Druid boy before following Morgana to her bedroom.

"Merlin, do you even kno-"

_Slam. _Morgana's door slammed open, smashing against the wall with some strength. Many guards had suddenly filled Morgana's bedroom. Morgana's face paled. She turned to Merlin, her eyes wide and her expression apprehensive. He nodded to her reassuringly, before her face scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed in a frustrated manner.

"What is the meaning of this!?" She barked, noticing some of the men's frightened looks as they thoroughly searched through her room- not even asking for her permission. Morgana felt infuriated, her room was being wiped clean of her stuff and she wasn't being acknowledged why. Merlin noticed Morgana's outrage and took that time to quickly glance over to the back of the room- noticing the Druid boy's feet were in view,

"_Onbregdan_." He whispered, barely audible to even the best hearing ears in the world. As soon as the word left his mouth he felt the familiar surge of energy rush through his body, feeling that small electrical sensation on the tips of his fingers. The red curtain, which was idly lying bound together with a sachet, unwrapped itself and moved swiftly, blocking any sight of the boy.

"Sorry, Morgana, Kings orders." Merlin turned to see Arthur-or Prince Dollop head- propped against the door frame, his face unhappy and dour. Merlin lowered his head, trying not to be seen by his maste-"_Mer_lin!" Merlin looked up from the floor sheepishly and then attempted a non-guilty smile.

"Yes, sire," he replied innocently. Arthur looked at his man servant with a look of disbelief.

"What are you doing _here_? I told you my armour needed cleaning this morning." Merlin hesitated, his face scrunching up, what was he going to use as an excuse for being in Morgana's chambers? He bit into his bottom lip, thinking as quickly as he could._** Her sleeping draft! **_ His eyes widened in happiness for his clever little brain. _**But wait. I normally deliver them at night.**_ Swallowing before he could reply, after what seemed like a long pause, Merlin opened his mouth to speak. Arthur eyed at him accusingly,

"Well I-"

"Merlin was helping me this morning," Morgana responded hastily before Merlin could finish his sentence, all the while watching the guards rummage through her wardrobes and cupboards, thankfully none had walked toward the end of the room _yet_. Arthur and Morgana looked to Merlin for conformation, who in return shrugged his shoulders and smiled innocently. Arthur's eyes narrowed and then looked around the room.

"Well, where's Guinevere?" He asked, gesturing his hand in incredulity. "Surely there are others who would be more than capable of being your servant for the morning."

"I allowed Guinevere the day off, she needed to help her father back at home," she retorted, looking at Arthur sceptically.

"Well, if you wouldn't _mind_, I'd like my servant back," he replied as he gripped onto Merlin's shoulders and pulled him close, until he noticed Merlin's entertained smile. Arthur rolled his eyes, "don't flatter yourself, _Mer_lin. Who else is going to clean up my stables?"

To preoccupied to listen to the boys having their daily banter, Morgana watched closely at all the guards, until she noticed a guard move toward the end of the room,

"Not back there!" She warned panicky, cursing herself once she realised how obvious that was. Merlin looked at her warningly; the guard who was near the curtain froze immediately. _**Oh God**_. She needed an explanation and quick, she tried to think of anything that would stop them from searching beyond the curtain without raising any suspicion. "My dress is back there." She continued, looking at Arthur. His eyebrows raised and an idiotic smile spread amongst his face.

"Your dress?" He asked comically as he moved his arms around his chest, waiting for a good old amusing excuse. The smile swiped off his face at Morgana's reply.

"Yes. I don't wish for anyone to see it until the feast." She replied with an orotund tone as she moved closer to Arthur, her chin up high and her face assertive. Merlin nodded to himself- he thought that was a good enough excuse- until he heard Arthur sigh loudly and watched as he pinched at the top of his nose.

"Look, Morgana," he exhaled out deeply, all the comical tone to his voice turned to a more aggravated manner. "Don't take this personally; I don't care about your dress. We're just here to find evidence that the Druid boy's in the castle." Morgana clenched her jaw; all hints of amusement had left Arthur's eyes.

"Perhaps the Druid boy's hiding in your chambers. They're usually a mess, you'd never know." She countered along with a challengingly raised eyebrow. Merlin's eyebrows furrowed. _**Usually a mess? Arthur doesn't give me any time to clean his room. It's always 'clean the stables, Merlin', 'polish my armour Merlin', 'do this Merlin', 'do that Merlin'. **_

"Well it wouldn't _be_ such a mess if Merlin wasn't here helping _you_." Morgana faltered, keeping her thoughts reserved for another time. Right then, she needed them to leave.

"Yes, well, Merlin's finished here so you can go do what you normally do when you're not wasting time in girl's chambers… I wish to bathe."

Arthur and Morgana stared each other down for more than ten seconds. Merlin and all the guards watched- not sure whether to continue searching or not.

"Fine," Arthur was the first to give up. He sighed gloomily and looked towards his guards. "We'll continue searching the east wing." They all bowed and marched out of the room. Morgana shared a knowing smile with Merlin while Arthur wasn't looking, in relief that they didn't find the boy. Arthur turned around before leaving the room. "_Mer_lin." The man being called blinked,

"Yes. Coming," he moved to rush out the door, looking at Morgana briefly before separating,

"I'll be here later with some stuff to heal his wounds."

**/Merlin\\**

After having to clean Arthur's chainmail _and_ his horses, Merlin finally managed to look through Gaius' remedy books to help him try and heal the Druid. He flicked through many pages,

"Bites, bruises, burns, wounds… _Infections_." He had found the correct chapter and began to collect all the remedies and equipment the book had instructed to use. _**Right, now to just get to Morgana. **_He heard the door open behind him.

"Ah, there you are." Gaius announced with a content smile on his face. "I need you to pick up some heather for me." Merlin cursed to himself, he didn't have any time, and the boy was near enough on the brink of death. He saw Gaius' questioning look, and opened his mouth to respond, he needed an excuse to leave.

"Er, can I do it later? I was going out." He thought up. _**Honesty is the best policy… Right? **_Before enquiring where he was going, Gaius pointed to the opened book lying on the table.

"Who set this book out?"

"It was me. I was doing some reading." Gaius grinned widely, spreading his arms out in triumph.

"Oh? I'd given up hoping you might take more of an interest in my work."

"No. It's fascinating."

"Merlin, you are a riddle wrapped up in a mystery." Merlin smiled weakly,

"That's me. I was just getting some cleaning supplies. Arthur's been complaining about the state of his chambers." He lied, darting toward the door.

"Ahh, yes. I heard Arthur rambling on about something like that earlier. He said you were 'more bothered about serving Morgana than your own master'." Gaius looked at him sceptically, that traditional raised eyebrow staring right at Merlin. Merlin's eyebrows knitted together, had Arthur really thought that? Sure, those past few days he had spent more time with Morgana, but he didn't know Arthur had felt so… Left out.

"Morgana just needed some help." Gaius looked at him accusingly, not fully believing the story. "Gwen was away so I said I'd help her," he replied, hoping that was innocent enough. He pointed to the door and started motioning his way out.

"Okay, but Merlin," _**damn, so close to leaving the room**_. Merlin turned around, "don't forget to do your normal duties, wouldn't want Arthur and Morgana both fighting over you." Merlin laughed at the thought; trying to mentally picture the image. _**I wonder who would win?**_

"Sure thing Gaius," his mentor smiled in return. "And Gaius? Your bench is on fire."

**/Merlin\\**

Merlin ambled through the corridors determinedly. _**No more interruptions**_. He managed to avoid walking past Arthur in the courtyard- hiding himself in a bale of hay. So there shouldn't have been anyone else to stop him. He jogged up the spiral stairs heading toward Morgana's chambers.

"Merlin?"

Merlin stopped in his tracks and sighed in frustration. _**What did I just say about interruptions?**_ He twisted around to the mysterious caller and automatically felt like hitting himself for being so rude.

"Gwen." He voice emitting a honeyed tone as he waved to his friend. He gave an approachable smile; Gwen had begun to walk toward him. "How are you? I heard Morgana gave you the morning off."

"I'm fine thank you. My father's just not been very well, we have knights and guards demanding weaponry every day, there's just so much one person can do." Merlin nodded while folding his arms together- polishing one dollop head's armour was bad enough, but to make several dollop head's armour... "But why are you here and what's in that bag?" Merlin looked down at the brown bag in his hand; he almost forgot he was holding the damned thing- which reminded him he couldn't waste another second of precious time.

"C'mon. I'll tell you on the way to Morgana's."

**/Merlin\\**

"So Arthur really believed in the dress excuse?" Gwen asked, her voice breathy as she laughed at how easily the Prince was fooled.

"Yeah, he didn't even question it really." Merlin replied just as entertained. They had managed to reach Morgana's door and their faces had slowly softened down to more serious expressions. Merlin knocked on the door, "Morgana, it's me and Gwen."

The door opened briskly, Morgana looking at them with worried eyes.

"I think he's gotten worse, I didn't know what to do Merlin, you weren't here."

Merlin shuffled past Morgana and hurriedly rushed to the young boy. Morgana was right. The boy did look worse, even more than before. The bandage that Merlin placed on him only hours before was covered in blood and begun to trickle down his chest. His face was even paler and he looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. Merlin swallowed the lump in his throat as he realised just how urgent the boy needed help. He knelt down beside him and began to treat on his wound- placing herbs and potions that he had read in Gaius' book to help him or relieve him of any kind of pain.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He heard Morgana ask behind him. He sighed, wiping the sweat that had appeared on his brow,

"I'm doing my best."

"We'll get you some water. C'mon Gwen." Both of the ladies left the room, Merlin let out a deep breath, they were all counting on him to fix this young boy. He didn't even know himself if he was doing anything right.

'_Thank you, Emrys.' _Merlin heard the words inside his head. He had heard that voice before. Merlin looked up at the boy; his eyes were only just kept open. Merlin stared at him with a questioning gaze.

'_You know who I am. How?'_

'_You are friends with Morgana; my people back home know who you both are…" _The boy paused as he took in a breath, he contorted at the pain_. 'But we call __**you**__ Emrys.' _Merlin's eyes widened,

'_Does Morgana have magic, like me?' _He was desperate for an answer. He didn't know whether Morgana possessed the gift of magic or not. He had guessed she did- going by the way she heard the boy's scream days before- but right then, with everything going on, he wasn't so sure. The boy didn't reply. Or rather _couldn't_. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, seeping to unconsciousness. Merlin gripped onto the boy's arm tighter.

"Speak to me."

"Merlin, I don't think he can," Gwen replied from behind. _**Since when did they enter the room? **_Merlin looked back at the boy. There were questions he needed answering. And there was only one person, or rather creature; that could give them to him.

**/Merlin\\**

****_**How many times I am to travel down these stairs? **_Merlin thought as he, at great pace, ran down the stairs leading to the dragon- the very dragon that Uther had held captive for twenty years. As Merlin travelled to the cave, even more questions had built in his mind. Does he tell Gaius of the boy? Will the boy live? Why does he call him Emrys? His mind felt like exploding at the amount of questions nagging and jabbing in his mind. He felt a sense of relief when he walked to the caves opening.

"Hello?" He yelled, hearing his own voice at the sound of his echo.

_ROAR! _A monstrous sound bellowed from above. Merlin's head snapped up and his hand was at the ready for the use of magic. He let out a long sigh of relief when he saw the green scales of the ancient reptilian.

"Do you have to do that? Couldn't you just not creep up on me and say hello... Like what a normal being would do?" The dragon laughed half-heartedly,

"The young warlock," he greeted with a more friendly tone. "No doubt you're here for my assistance." Merlin nodded,

"It's about the druid boy..."

"Ah yes. You hear him speak?" Merlin looked up surprised,

"How did you-"

"Like you, I heard the boy." He interrupted as he flew down to the regular position he normally sat. "People like you and I have special bonds, Merlin. Bonds which allow us to speak telepathically, when perhaps what we speak of is not best said out loud." Merlin furrowed his eyebrows, _**but didn't Morgana hear him too?**_

"So does that mean Morgana has the power too? Is she like me?" He asked hopeful, a smile breaking through the corner of his lips. The dragon's fierce golden orbs flashed dangerously, the colour changing to a dark and vivid tint.

"It is not yet clear what the young seer's path will be," he admitted, closing his face to the warlocks. _**So Morgana does have magic… Or she's a seer anyway. I'll need to do some research on them.**_ Before he could ask any more questions on Morgana, the dragon continued. "But heed my warnings when I say that _the boy_ is indeed troublesome." The dragon informed raucously. Merlin glanced up with knitted eyebrows and a clenched jaw. _**What could possibly be troublesome about him? He's just a boy. **_Merlin shook his head in disbelief.

"But he's just a boy, how can he be of any worry? And why does he call me Emrys?"

"It does not matter what age the Druid is, he is destined for great evil…" There was no doubt in the dragon's voice that made Merlin think he could change the dragon's opinion on the boy. "As for your name... Emrys is what the Druids most commonly call you. You have many names, Merlin." Merlin blinked, trying to process all the information he was given in the short period of time. _**So Morgana is a seer. My name is Emrys and the Druid boy is evil… **_His face scrunched up._** Wait.**_

"How is the boy destined for _great evil_?"

However, he wasn't answered as the dragon flapped his wings swiftly and flew off before Merlin could even blink an eyelid. _**Why does he never answer the important questions? Or answer them with another riddle. **_

_****_**/Merlin\\**

Merlin recalled what he had learned in that past hour, so many different things and yet, the most interesting fact he had learned was Morgana being a seer. _**Does that mean she can do magic too? Or can see just see the future?**_ He spent some time thinking about what she could do then, and what she was capable of. It was still hard to believe. _**Morgana, a seer.**_ But he didn't doubt himself. He knew the first time he laid eyes on her that she was different. When he first saw her, standing quite timidly by her bedroom window, he felt captivated, like there was a pull of some sorts. Of course back then he just thought it was because he was in the presence of a prosecution, but now he knows otherwise.

A feeling of excitement rushed through him. _**I am not alone**_.

The journey to Morgana's chamber seemed to have fled a lot quicker than normally. He knocked on Morgana's door and waited. Gwen opened the door and gave him a weak smile, which didn't suit the rest of the worrying expressions on her face. Merlin saw Morgana's green velvet dress from the door and walked up to see the lady Morgana herself- who at the time was watching over the Druid boy protectively, much like what his mother did when he was ill at a younger age.

"How is he?"

"He's getting weaker. Whatever you did yesterday, it hasn't worked." With her looking up at Merlin, he realised her face was flustered and dry tears were still on her cheeks. "We _have_ to ask Gaius for help." Her voice had become brittle, making it much harder for Merlin to resist saying no to. He turned away from her and glanced at the floor, not liking that plan. _At all_. He had promised Gaius he hadn't got involved. He shook his head as he tried to think of another solution. _**I could try looking for more remedies? **_

He was taken from his thoughts when he felt sudden warmth cover his hands; glancing down he realised Morgana had placed her hands on top of his. He gulped and looked upward toward her face, which didn't help in the slightest. Her eyes were striking. They were so determined to help the boy and yet so scared, Merlin felt like hugging her for comfort, but knew it wasn't the time or place.__"After all you've done, please Merlin," her pleading voice had become more desperate and somewhat more agitated. He felt her grasp on his hand tighten, "if not for the boy, then for me Merlin, please."

Merlin paused for a few moments and looked up to Gwen. She didn't look as desperate for the boy's help as Morgana, but he could still see the worry in her eyes. He sighed, _**my friends need help. It's my duty to help them. **_He nodded slowly,

"Okay," he breathed out while looking at the boy. A sudden jolt backwards shocked him greatly- _**what the hell**_- it was when he opened his eyes did he realise he was being hugged. _**By Morgana. **_He couldn't believe it, he hugged her back with just as much strength, but it ended as soon as it had begun. She pulled away instantly,

"I'm sorry, that was not appropriate for me t-"

"No," Merlin interrupted, shaking his head and laughing breathily. "I didn't mind," though he didn't mean it in a flirtatious kind of way, he just liked having the intimate closure from time to time, he missed those times with his mom. He saw Morgana smile back,

"Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin could see Gwen smiling accusingly by the wall, and he awkwardly coughed to allow himself to leave.

**/Merlin\\**

He had been in the same room as Gaius for nearly an hour. He _needed_ to tell him. But every time he would be close to telling him he would freeze- reminded by the fact he had lied to Gaius, told him he hadn't gotten involved, and even worse, he needed his help. He needed his mentor to risk his life to save the boy he said to keep away from.

Merlin sighed into his hands.

"The search for this Druid boy is becoming a real nuisance. With all the extra security around the castle-"

"Morgana's hiding the Druid boy in her chambers." He couldn't keep it a secret any longer; he just had to tell him. Gaius' head had shot up at the revelation. Pointing an accusing finger at Merlin, he frowned and walked closer to him,

"When you say that Morgana's hiding the Druid boy, I take it that means that you're helping her?"

"Sort of… Gwen knows as well. We've been trying to keep the boy alive," he admitted, standing up from the stairs and moving over to the bench. He saw Gaius sigh as he too walked over to the bench,

"Merlin, you promised me that you wouldn't get involved."

"I know, Gaius. And I'm sorry, but I heard him calling out. The guards were after him, I had no choice." He slowly breathed out and looked at the floor, "it just felt like the right thing to do, I couldn't let him die."

"Merlin," the older man breathed out sympathetically, "every guard is searching for this boy, including Arthur. What would happen if you were caught hiding the boy? Who would save you or Gwen even? Uther has shown no sympathy for this boy, Merlin."

"You're saying it's wrong to harbour a young magician?" Merlin looked up at his mentor, his face scrunched up.

"The difference is, Merlin, that your magic is still secret." _**And Morgana's. **_"Though it's a wonder how, considering how carless you are." Merlin exhaled heavily, shaking his head lightly,

"He still needs help." Gaius looked at Merlin with a questioning expression. "The boy's hurt, I've tried to treat him, but it hasn't worked. We need your help Gaius… Morgana won't stop until she knows the boy's safe- she has this sort of _bond_ with him." He saw Gaius thinking, whether he help him or not. Merlin watched as the older man squinted his eyes,

"I will try and help the boy to recovery," Merlin smiled and stood up excitedly, already making his way to the door, "but Merlin…" Gaius said, grabbing Merlin's attention away from leaving the room. Merlin stared, "this bond she has with the boy. I can't help but think of it as bad news. If the bond is as strong as you implied, then we have to watch Morgana does nothing too drastic to help the boy." Merlin nodded, understanding Gaius' seriousness to the matter.

** /Merlin\\**

****While Gaius started to examine the Druid boy's body, Merlin and Gwen had stayed back, mainly to give the physician the space he needed. Morgana had gone to the hall- apparently Uther had requested to speak to both her and Arthur. Merlin wanted to tag along, seeming Arthur was there as well, but Morgana requested he stayed with Gaius, in case he needed assistance.

So that meant Merlin was in her chambers, leaning against her wooden table while he waited patiently for Gaius to tell him the good news he desired. He grinned when he noticed Gwen still hadn't stopped doing her chores in the room however, still fluffing Morgana's pillows- not that she needed to due to Morgana not sleeping- and cleaning the place up. Gwen had always been a loyal friend of his, and to Morgana. _**Never loose heart Gwen.**_

"I'd just like to say thank you," Gwen spoken kindly while she started to put new clothes into Morgana's closet. Merlin turned his head to the side goofily, looking at her in confusion. She laughed, "for helping Morgana." Merlin's mouth made an O shape- realising what she was talking about. "She really cares for this boy, and I think it meant a lot to her for your help."

"Well, it wasn't just me. You helped too."

"Barely, I just kept my mouth shut," she offered as she turned around to look at Merlin, finally finished with packing the clothing. She fiddled with her fingers awkwardly, "you've always been good like that. You helped me when Uther had sentenced me to death and now you're helping Morgana."

"I'm only helping my friends," he replied truthfully, giving Gwen a set smile before Gaius had walked in on their conversation. Merlin leaned off the wooden table, no smiles or any hint of happiness was left on his face. This was serious.

"I've done all I can, but you must get him out of Camelot," he warned sternly as he slowly walked next to Merlin, giving Gwen an understanding nod before he looked back to Merlin. "However, this is one thing we know for certain." Merlin's eye brows rose, awaiting the bad news to come. "You're no physician."

**/Merlin\\**

Merlin had caught up with Morgana and Gwen in the lower town. He told Gwen that they would all meet there at the early hours of the next day.

"The guards are searching everyone leaving the town," Gwen acknowledged, looking to Merlin restlessly. Ever since they had hid the boy, Merlin noticed how uneasy Gwen had become-_**probably because she's not used to lying to people and keeping things secret. **_Merlin nodded, he too had noticed the guards being extra pushy the last few days. In fact, he was checked before he made his way to the lower town, they had asked for him to take his scarf off. _**Yeah, like the Druid boy would be hiding in there. **_

"There is another way out. There's a secret door in the armoury; leads to the lower town- just _there_." He pointed secretly to the other end of the stalls. A small door was kept hidden behind a cart of hay and weaponry. Morgana also looked over also. "I'll take the boy out that way."

"No." Both Merlin and Gwen looked at Morgana with puzzled expressions. Morgana looked at them, "It's too dangerous. I'll do it." Gwen glanced toward Merlin, instantly realising the danger of _her_ helping the boy too. Merlin continued to stare at Morgana, his face scrunched up as he tried to think of an excuse for him to go and not her,

"I-I'm good with secret doors and things, and besides, I couldn't watch a friend of mine be caught knowing that I could have been in their place," he admitted strongly. Morgana took none of it.

"If you are caught, Uther will execute you." Merlin said nothing to that, she had a point.

"And he would imprison you."

"I'll take me chances."

"Your chances would be better off with some help."

"Well, we need the key first." Gwen said, interrupting the tension between Merlin and Morgana's staring competition. "Who has it?"

"Arthur," Merlin huffed. "But I know a way I can get it, you can trust me." He reassured, looking at both the women with a blatant smile. Before Merlin could leave the two be, Morgana grasped his hand.

"Be careful, Merlin."

There was something about the amount of concern in her tone that really made Merlin think twice. He shook the feeling away, knowing it was nothing, and jogged up toward his master chambers. _**Right. Now. How am I going to get these keys? **_

_**Again, if you have any questions then do not be afraid to ask. I'd like to say a massive thank you to the people who either favourited (I know that's not a word, but still) or followed this fic. I'm already in the middle of writing the next chapter, and there will be many significant changes in that compared to the episode. **_

_**Writing is a passion of mine, and feedback is always lovely to read. I like to acknowledge whether or not I'm writing to your standards and if you find the story enjoyable. So thank you for the kind reviews last chapter. **_


	3. Nobody deserves to live like that

The plan was underway. She was going to get the boy out of there- and nobody would stand in her way. The corners of Morgana's lips curved into a somewhat pleased grin; she just wanted to get the boy to safety.

Merlin had promised he'd be back with the keys so, while he was preoccupied with that, Morgana decided she would spend that time to dress into more suitable clothing for the upcoming events. The last thing she wanted was for her to be recognised.

"Here you go, milady," Gwen offered as she handed her a green, cashmere robe. Smiling approvingly, Morgana grabbed the robe, instantly relishing in the soft feel of the velvet, and gently wrapped it around her back, allowing it to cascade down her back stunningly. She did a once over in the mirror and turned to Gwen- who was waiting politely for her lady's next command. Morgana couldn't help but sigh; she had dragged her best friend into all of this and never stopped to ask if she was okay with it. She respected Gwen's opinions and thoughts; she had been a loyal friend to Morgana when nobody else was at that time. When the nightmares had started to take over Morgana's sleepless nights, Gwen would immediately be at her side with open arms and comforting words. She didn't know where she'd be right then if it were for her faithful friend.

"I feel I've put you in danger without ever stopping to ask how you feel about it," Morgana mentioned quietly, grabbing Gwen attention. "I'm sorry," she apologised, looking toward Gwen with a saddening face. Gwen raised her head and shook it gently; her eyes glistened from the candles in the room.

"I know how it feels to face the threat of execution," her voice was low and informative; she took a deep breath, grimacing as she looked to her now healed wrists, remembering how they once were deeply cut and throbbed with excruciating pain as shackles rubbed and cut at her soft flesh. "And I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Morgana instinctively shifted toward her maid, holding her in a tight supportive hug.

"I'm glad you're here, Gwen," was mumbled into Gwen's shoulder, though it was difficult to understand what she had said, Gwen's troubled face softened none the less as she savoured in the hug.

There was a soft knock on the door.

Almost automatically, Gwen separated from Morgana- goodness knows what would happen to the both of them if they were caught hugging- a maid and her _master_.

"It's Merlin." Both Morgana and Gwen sighed in relief as they watched Merlin awkwardly shuffle from behind the door and into the room. _**Oops, I think I interrupted a private conversation**_. After quietly shutting the door behind him, Merlin uncomfortably scratched at his head and stood next to Gwen, giving her an apologetic goofy face for disturbing their moment. Morgana, on the other hand, felt there was no time to waste and swiftly rushed to the back of the room, collecting the young boy who was waiting patiently against the wall. She gave him a hopeful smile while holding out her hand for him to take, which he took appreciatively, and brought him back to the group. Merlin weakly nodded to the young boy,

'_I'm glad to see you have recovered.' _

'_Thanks to your help, Emrys.'_

Merlin offered him a discreet, understanding smile. Morgana huddled around the boy and kneeled so they were eye level,

"We're going to get you out of Camelot," she informed with a meaningful, yet soft smile. Her grip tightened on his arm reassuringly when his face had faltered into a somewhat nervous expression.

"We won't let anything bad happen to you. Morgana will be with you at all times," Merlin comforted as he too knelt down opposite the boy. When he was sure the boy was fully confident in their plan, he glanced over toward Morgana. Her face was scrutinising as she carefully watched the two dark haired boy's moment intriguingly. She blinked when she noticed Merlin's questioning look and dismissed him by taking the boy's hand and briefly giving one appreciative smile to Gwen.

"Okay, I'm ready." She affirmed confidently, though Merlin noticed the unseen strain in her voice, acknowledging she was acting confident for the boy's sake. She looked over to the boy questioningly-checking if he was ready also- he too nodded his head in confidence. They were ready. Morgana's face set into a serious gaze, looking at Merlin with a determined look. "Did you get the keys?"

Merlin beamed proudly as he pulled one bulky, old fashioned key from behind his back. He chuckled lightly; _**getting them was just too entertaining; Arthur left his chambers questioning his sanity**_. However, he was reminded of the seriousness of the situation once he realised _why_ he needed the key and handed it over to Morgana- no trace of a smile left on his face anymore.

"Er, the door is behind the shield at the far end of the armoury." Morgana hummed in understanding and as soon as her small delicate hand touched his while grabbing for the key, Merlin felt that sudden flood of energy run through him again. _**That's definitely magic. **_His eyes widened slightly and the hairs on his back shot up. The feel of her__touch was almostaddicting, he revelled in it, it was new and yet so intriguing to the young warlock. However, realising he clung onto her grip a little longer than needed, he jerked his hand away shyly, sending her a small apologetic smile. Yet to his surprise, Morgana just frowned at him like he was apologising for some as stupid as such.

While looking down at the key with furrowed eyebrows, Morgana was reminded of the great risk she was taking. _**If the boy is to be caught then he will be killed.**_ She clung onto the key for dear life, her knuckles becoming white from the tightness of her grasp. _**But it won't come to that, not while I'm protecting him.**_ Gwen observed her friends discomfort and thought she should try to lighten the atmosphere, seeming the tension in the room had built up at an immense pace in a matter of seconds.

"I'll pack you some food and water for the journey," Gwen asserted, giving her a weak smile. Morgana nodded and shook hers and the boy's arm, informing him they were to leave. Just before they had left the room Merlin stepped forward.

"Be careful, Morgana," he warned, his face scrunched up as he remembered Arthur talking about heightening the amount of guards on patrol that surround the towns and castle.

**\\Merlin/**

****_**What's taking them so long? It's been an hour; they should have been here half an hour ago. **_Continuously tapping onto the table, Merlin worried that something had gone wrong. It was a simple enough plan, run to the bottom of the chamber stairs, through some corridors and then to the armoury room. _**They're fine. **_Merlin reassured himself. _**It's not like there are hundreds of angry guards looking for the boy**_. Merlin hit his head on the table. _**Nope, nothing could go wrong, absolutely nothing.**_ He rested his head on the table for some time, thinking of different reasons as to why they were late. His head snapped up,_** maybe they have been caught? **_Merlin briskly shook that perturbing thought away instantly, not wanting to unease himself further. The last thing he needed was the anxiety and distress of their situation eating him alive. He breathed out shakily and looked around the room for any sort of distraction. He noticed Gwen had troubled herself with chores once again, _**probably to take her mind off the whole situation. **_She hadn't spoken a word and it unnerved him even more, did she think the same as him, did she think they had been caught too? He tapped even louder onto the table,

"_Merlin_," Gwen exclaimed, turning away from the sink to look at Merlin with an agitated expression, her eyes darting to the still tapping fingers. He passively stopped tapping and instead jumped up from his chair and began to pace. He regarded his twiddling thumbs as he strode up and down the room, his breathing haste and uneven. Gwen rolled her eyes and once again stared at Merlin, however that time Merlin wasn't met with the annoyed glance like before, but a concerned look, which he guessed mirrored his very own.

"I hope they're okay." She voiced apprehensively with a frown. Merlin stopped walking, looking at Gwen with a vexed stare and nodded swiftly,

"I-I'm sure they're fine. Maybe they got lost?" He proposed hopefully, a small optimistic smile spread across his face, though both him and Gwen knew he wasn't fooling anyone. Morgana had lived the majority of her life in the castle, she wouldn't get lost, which raised the same dilemma once again. _**Then surely they've been caught?**_ In all fairness, he would rather them be lost than have been caught by the guards. He gave a despondent, downcast look.

He thought back on the past few days since he helped save the boy from the guards, they had all worked so hard to make sure he wasn't caught, and for that time to be wasted because they got caught. He disposed of the thought. The boy _was_ going to live, and he _was_ going to escape. He had finally come to the conclusion that he would _not_ allow them to get caught. Not now he knew of both their magic. That didn't stop him keeping a wary eye on Mordred however; the Dragon hadn't fully explained why he despised him so much, but he knew enough to take knowledge of the Dragon's warnings. But he just couldn't see it. How was the boy as evil as the Dragon presaged? He shook his head; _**I need to see the Dragon again.**_ But the thought of Mordred brought him back to Morgana. Morgana he had no doubt with, _as such_, the Dragon didn't give any specifics towards her but he still noticed the vague twitch the Dragon made when she was mentioned. _**But what's so bad about Morgana?**_ Having her around now was almost enjoyable, knowing he wasn't alone anymore; it gave him a sense of hope… He couldn't allow her to get caught.

"Yeah," Gwen agreed breathily, "I'm sure that's it." Merlin was confused as to why she said that, until he realised she was replying to his comment about them being 'lost' before. When Merlin briefly looked in her direction he noticed her furrowed eyebrows and clenched jaw, indicating she wasn't fully convinced, much like him if he were honest.

Finding the silence too overwhelming, Gwen continued with her work. Merlin too hated the silence so he plonked himself back onto the chair- remembering to _not_ tap on the table that time.

_**\\Merlin/**_

Neither of them said another word during the long awaiting minutes. Merlin shifted, the silence was too much. He placed his head on the table _again_, he had to do something! He couldn't just sit there and do nothing while they could be in danger. _**It's been too long, something has gone wrong**_. Just when Merlin decided he was going to go out and look for them, the door hastily opened, Gwen jolted back in surprise, holding onto the counter for support, and until she saw the two familiar red and green velvet hoods did she relax and sigh in relief.

"Morgana!" After composing herself from the shock, Gwen instantly hugged her friend tightly, not caring if the boy or Merlin were watching. Merlin gleamed, happy to know they were safe; he glimpsed at the boy checking to see if were alright, and was met with an absent gaze. Merlin titled his head to the side, inspecting and watching the boy closely, _**something's wrong**__._ As if on cue the warning bells began to sound. Mordred quietly gasped and looked back toward the door, as if expecting guards to come and take him away. It saddened Merlin to see how on edge the young boy was, any sudden movements or noises and the boy would be looking around anxiously, waiting for guards to capture him. _**Nobody deserves to live like that.**_

Morgana stepped away from the hug at the sound of the warning bells. Gwen pursed her lips and hurriedly grabbed a brown bag that rested on the table, which Merlin realised she must have made herself when she had her free time, and handed it to Morgana without question.

"There's enough food for three days," Gwen informed, her voice panicky as she placed it around Morgana's shoulder. Morgana smiled gratefully and gave Gwen her farewell hug,

"I must go, if we're lucky the guards will be readying the armour just as we leave."

"I'm coming too."

Both Gwen and Morgana froze and then looked toward Merlin with raised eyebrows. Morgana breathed nervously as she shook her head,

"Y-you can't. There's no point in all of us risking our lives," she countered. Merlin bit into his bottom lip,_** but I **_**have**_** to go**_. He turned around and picked up a brown bag from under the table that looked near enough identical to the one Morgana wore. He threw it around his shoulders and noticed the questioning looks from both women.

"You'd be better off with another set of eyes." He rushed to the back of Gwen's home and noticed an untouched blanket; he looked toward Gwen with a 'may I?' expression,

"Of course," she replied. He smiled a thank you and shoved the blanket into his bag. He saw Morgana's discouraged stare and sighed, turning to fully look at her. "I know more shortcuts than you." He ungracefully made his way toward the door and held onto the door knob.

"_Mer_lin," A harsh toned voice whispered toward him, he found it weird how similarly that sounded to Arthur calling his name. He looked up from the door knob and noticed Morgana's now irritated face, he stopped. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either of you," Morgana admitted while looking at both Gwen and Merlin urgently, wanting them to not go- though Merlin just stared into mid-air blankly, not even comprehending her words, as he closed his ear to the door.

"I think I can hear the guards," Merlin interrupted, turning around to slightly open the door. He peeked through and searched the whole street. He couldn't see any movement- highly because it was midnight and the street was only illuminated by the reflection of the moon. He concentrated hard; _**I know I heard something**_, until he vaguely saw the flickering light of torches that were rapidly coming their way. He closed the door to and grabbed Morgana's hand, not waiting for any protests, "There's no time. The guards are making their way over here. We need to move fast." Morgana gave one fleeting look toward Gwen, giving her a strong willed expression before she was pulled out into the cooled air.

Merlin motioned for them to crouch down as soon they had stepped one footstep from Gwen's door, as a simple minded guard jogged past them; panting out heavily as he dragged a silver blade behind him which glinted in the moonlight. Merlin gulped.

Once the guard past Merlin looked around. _**Where do we go? The guard has gone in the direction I planned to go. **_

'_Emrys, the door.' _Merlin furrowed his eyebrows at the boy, only once he followed his glance did he realise what he meant. _**Oh, door!**_ On the opposite side of the street a brown wooden door was secretly hidden from a large stack of hay. He'd remembered using it once or twice when he needed a quick short cut to the lower town. He sighed, _**why does it always have to be on the opposite side to us?**_ Deciding it would be best for Morgana and the boy to cross first, he slowly and hesitantly peeked from behind a food stall in the search for any more guards; content there were none in view, he gingerly signalled for Morgana to run.

Watching as Morgana and the boy swiftly ran to the other side of the road, Merlin followed suit. Once he made it across he opened the door and allowed for them to go through, all the while looking back to see if there were any guards around. He squeezed in after and closed the door behind him.

Unfortunately, once the door closed they were met with complete darkness.

"And how exactly are we meant to walk in this?" Morgana asked making Merlin grin because, luckily for them, Merlin had always kept torches at the start and end of every passage way. He bent down, trying to find it, and smiled when his hand felt the cold metal of the torch.

"Now, if I can just…" He struggled as he tried to light the torch; it wasn't easy without a candle. But after hearing Morgana agitatedly sigh he lit he torch (with a little bit of help from his magic), and shone it in front of him. Morgana's eyes scrunched up due to the bright lit blinding her eyes; she lowered the torch, leaving Merlin to apologize to her. They began to walk when Merlin pointed in the direction of the path.

"Arthur's got his men to fan out…" He breathed out, and even with just a torch as their only light source did he notice Morgana's concerned expression. "I think I even saw Sir Leon." Morgana frowned as she continued to walk down the narrow stoned corridor, Merlin followed and walked alongside her.

They had walked for a good ten minutes, cutting around corners and stepping in the dusty, unkempt flooring.

"Where are we?" Morgana's voice was heard rough and hoarsely, like she hadn't drunk in months. She coughed inwardly and thought it be because of the sooty surroundings they were in, but couldn't help but think it was because she was concerned and apprehensive for the boy's sake. _It was somebody's life they were saving at the end of the day_. However, Merlin recognised this and promptly lifted the bag from his shoulders and fumbled through it, revealing a brown pouch filled with water. He handed it to her with a smile; she took it appreciatively and drank from it, swallowing large gulps of the refreshing water.

"It's a secret passage way that's kept under the castle," he answered, continuing to walk. The young boy apparently wasn't too fond of _chit chat_ and proceeded to walk without saying a word, Merlin's face creased, _**in fact he's not much of a fan of **_**talking**_** either**_. Morgana handed him back the pouch with a gratifying look.

A few more minutes had passed and Merlin wouldn't be lying if he said his feet were becoming a little tired. _**Okay, make that a lot**_. He knew the exit wasn't much further, but he couldn't wait to rest his legs.

"Thank you, Merlin." He heard a voice say out of nowhere, Merlin almost jumped at the sound of the voice- everybody had been silent for so long that he didn't expect any sudden sound. He only realised who had spoken when he noticed Morgana looking at him appreciatively. She wasn't smiling, but Merlin could sense the thankfulness that beamed from her piercing emerald coloured eyes. Merlin's face turned into a blithe look,

"I'd always help my friends," Merlin guaranteed, fixing up a meaningful grin.

"Yes, I suppose you would." Before Merlin could fully question what she had meant by that response he accidentally slammed his foot into a solid object, or more specifically a metal door. He yelped back as quiet as he could, biting into his top lip. The young boy looked at him inquiringly, wondering if he were alright, but Merlin supressed another yelp and nodded his head. "This is the exit." Morgana announced as she laboriously began to open the heavy steel door, only grimacing at the squeak it had made when it moved. Once it was opened enough for her to fit, she peeked her head through, glancing around the room. _**Spare supply room. **_She acknowledged as she slowly crept into the room, still checking for any guards. Merlin came in next, holding the boy's hand protectively and also scanning for unwanted personnel.

The room was left untouched and empty, no signs of movement, only the piles of spare armour and laid out clothes lazily positioned around the place.

"This is the spare supply room. We should only be a minute away from getting out. I think there's secret passage way behind that broken wardrobe." Merlin proclaimed in a hush while narrowly creeping from the door- slightly limping from the incident earlier. It wasn't an easy task to get to the cupboard without making a sound. Metal helmets, shoulder pads, shields, swords- you name it. If it was metal, it was there- were in their way.

Just when Merlin thought getting out of the castle wouldn't be as hard as planned, many footsteps were heard marching toward them. Morgana froze, looking around the room for somewhere to hide. Merlin noticed a large blanket in the corner of the room, he gestured for Morgana and the Druid to hide underneath it.

"What about you?" Morgana whispered with furrowed eyebrows, inaudible to anyone not millimetres away. He shook his head,

"Don't worry about me…" He turned back, looking around the room, and then back to Morgana. "I-I'll find somewhere." Merlin then dragged her to the corner of the room and threw the blanket on top of them, not waiting for any arguments to stir. He made sure they were well hidden before he stood up and checked the room again. _**Right, I need to find a distraction.**_ He spotted a broom which lazily lied on its side next to the door, _**I could try jamming the door**_, but before he could cast a spell on the broom a voice was heard just outside the door. Merlin instantly crouched,

"You three, check down that corridor. I'll check this room. We'll meet in the courtyard once we're finished, but be careful. The boy possess' magic, we don't know what he's capable of."

Merlin frowned; he would recognise that voice anywhere.

He had no time, Arthur was going to enter that room and find him. How was he meant to find an excuse for being down there at that time? He ran to the only place he could think of to hide. Behind a well shadowed wall. He squeezed up, making sure Arthur wouldn't be able to see him but frowned, he couldn't see Morgana or the boy in the position he was in.

His thoughts went blank when he heard Arthur open the door. Merlin's heartbeat suddenly seemed erratic; his chest felt like it would have exploded at any moment. He tried to breathe in slow and quiet, but the antagonising horror of hearing Arthur's boots move closer and closer toward him didn't help. Arthur was only a footstep away from finding him. He licked his lips and breathed in- holding his breath- feeling too nervous to even breathe, fearing Arthur would hear him. His eyes opened slowly, hearing Arthur's footsteps retreat. He exhaled slowly.

'_Emrys, he's coming our way.' _Merlin's eyes widened. _**Morgana and the boy! **_He turned from the wall to in fact see Arthur closing in on the blanket he had covered them in.

**Sorry this is shorter than the other chapters, but I felt this was a **_**brilliant**_** place to keep you hanging. So, what do you think will happen? Will Arthur find them? Will he not? Or will Merlin do something so as they're not? **

**Again, I take all criticisms. But I feel my grammar was actually very good this chapter, I'm pleased, aha. Thank you for reading. **

**Oh, and what do you think of the little poster icon next to the story? Does it look alright?**


	4. Made the wrong decision

Merlin gulped. The entire plan was ruined; Arthur was going to find the boy. There was only one thing he could do. Gently tip toeing towards the door, his eyes always on Arthur; he managed to reach the door in which Arthur had entered from. He closed his eyes and tried to compose himself, not letting his emotions get the better of him. Exhaling he looked up, a determined glare in his eyes.

"Arthur!" He exclaimed, making it look as if he had just entered the room. Arthur jolted at the sudden noise, nearly falling over the random pieces of armour. Once he had gained his balanced he unsheathed his sword and pointed it to the direction of the voice- only to lower his sword at the sight of his servant. His face made a somewhat puzzled yet relieved expression.

"_Merlin_, what are you doing here!?" He accused, placing his sword back into its holder, and walking toward him in disbelief. Merlin licked his lips. _**Quick, think of an excuse. **_

"I heard the warning bell and thought I should help." He lied, giving his master an innocent enough expression. Arthur watched him sceptically, eyes narrowed and head tilted to the side criticising, but Merlin knew him good enough to know he was only playing, so he mirrored his actions until Arthur rolled he eyes and loosened the grip on his holder. He exhaled threw his nose and nodded.

"Yes. There were sightings of the Druid boy," his voice was gravelly and low as he looked toward the floor contrite. His expression hardened as he turned back to Merlin, who was studying him questioningly. "They think he went through the lower town." Arthur confirmed, his voice more modulated and orotund.

Merlin watched his friend with concern; this, everything to do with the boy, had affected everyone- _more so Gwen, Morgana and Merlin_- but it was obvious, from the sweat on his brow and the tightening grip on his sword earlier, that it had all been forceful and pressuring on Arthur just as much. Uther had _demanded_ him to find the boy, no sign of sorrow or grief in his tone, his face had fumed when he realised the boy was still in the castle.

Merlin smiled briefly at the prince before him. He can almost guarantee on his life that Arthur had still tried to reason with his father, tell him that he was being too harsh on the boy and less severe punishments were more benefited- if any at all. Merlin looked to his friend respectively, as much as Arthur could be a humungous clotpole, he still cared for Camelot's people, and gave all law breakers fair trials. He may not have known it at the time, but he was beginning to be the once and future king Camelot needed.

"_Mer_lin." Arthur's moaning voice interrupted Merlin's thoughts. Arthur's eyebrows were raised as if he was awaiting some sort of response. Merlin's brow creased and Arthur huffed. "Do you ever listen to a word I say, Merlin? I said, help me move this stuff so as we can look around." Arthur then travelled behind a table, and kneeled down into a crouched position, ready to lift it. Merlin understood and picked up the other side. After lifting the heavy wooden object with difficulty, Arthur pointed his head to the right, indicating where to move the table. While they were steadily shuffling in that direction, Merlin glanced over to the blanket that hid Morgana and the boy, they hadn't moved. They were still under there waiting for the clear.

They lightly placed the table back onto the floor and Arthur smiled a tight-lipped smile as he clapped off the dust on his gloves. Merlin stood gawkily, waiting for Arthur's next command. Before they begun to lift yet another heavy object across the room, Merlin chewed on his inner cheek while in thought. _**We're losing time. The guards will eventually find him if he stays there any longer.**_ He took another quick glance at the blanket, and huffed quietly. How was he meant to get rid of Arthur? Merlin played on with the thought until something occurred to him. He looked back to Arthur, who was throwing armour and swords behind his shoulder, digging for hiding spots, or any place the boy could have hidden. _**Would Arthur help us? **_He asked himself while he watched the Prince with_** a **_questioning look. _**Did he truly want the boy executed like his father; maybe if I talk to him he'll-**_

"_Merlin_, are you going to help me lift this or are you going to stand there, worried about your nails?" Arthur joked, looking at Merlin with a lifted eyebrow. Merlin mumbled to himself as he picked up the other side of the object. _**Maybe I could talk to him, see what he would do. Arthur doesn't want the boy dead, but would he let him free?**_

"What would you do if you found the boy?" Merlin asked openly. His face looked innocent enough when Arthur turned to him, but he noticed there was something about the sparkle in Merlin's eyes- like he was fully interested in Arthur he had to say. Arthur's jaw clenched at the question, staring at Merlin with a creased brow before replying,

"I suppose I would send him to my father," he admitted, though his face disapproved of the thought. Merlin bit into his bottom lip, this was such a delicate conversation. If anything were to slip, and he did in fact want the boy sent to his father… Then he was in trouble. So, Merlin decided to twist the conversation around in his favour.

"So you believe he should be executed?" Merlin asked. Arthur instantly stopped moving the object they were carrying and Merlin's face scrunched up, regretting the fact he thought he had gone too far. Arthur lowered the object to look at his servant, his _friend_, sadly. His gaze lowered.

"What I believe doesn't matter; my father's made up his mind," he acknowledged, shaking his head as he continued to carry the object. Merlin breathed in, not taking that for an answer.

"But if it were you, would you execute him?"

Arthur hesitated. He shook his head in disbelief, not fully knowing the answer himself.

"Perhaps… Imprisonment is a more suitable punishment. But he's so young, and he has yet to do anything. " He acknowledged, his voice anxious and distressed. He noticed Merlin's furrowed eyebrows and sighed, dropping the object to the floor. "I would at least spare him for Morgana's sake. She's clearly grown fond of the boy, and to kill him would just…" He trailed off, his expression crestfallen and downcast.

"If you had the chance to save the boy's life, would you take it?" Merlin waited for the answer uneasily. He was relying on this one response, if Arthur said no the chances of getting the boy out of Camelot were as slim as… As slim as having Merlin expose himself to Uther Pendragon- so very, _very_ slim.

"Yes, I would." Arthur confessed without any doubt. Merlin felt euphoria run through his body. _**He would help! **_ Arthur's eyebrows scrunched up as he watched his friend closely. "Merlin…" He voice was low, Merlin turned to him, his head on its side in question. "There's something you're not telling me."

Merlin breathed out and scratched at his head. He gulped as he made his way to the blanket on the opposite side of the room- noticing Arthur curious gaze.

"Morgana, it's okay, you can come from behind the blanket," Merlin whispered softly. Arthur watched as Morgana and the young Druid boy appeared from behind the blanket. Arthur breathed in heavily and his face scrunched up.

"Morgana!" his voice was raised as he moved closer to them both, but soon noticed how Morgana tighten her grip on the boy protectively, as if she were defending him from a monster. Arthur's gaze softened and he stopped. Merlin watched Arthur worriedly; _**maybe I made the wrong decision. What if he sends the boy to Uther? **_

"Arthur he's just a boy. Please, he doesn't belong here, he has done nothing wrong." Morgana pleaded as she continued to hold the boy. Arthur huffed, and pinched at the bridge of his nose, trying to think of what to do or what to say. He looked back up to Morgana,

"It wasn't really your dress behind the curtain, was it?" Morgana shook her head,

"There were guards everywhere, Arthur. Perhaps if it were just you I would have told you the truth," she admitted, looking at Arthur apologizing, which soon quickly faded. "But you want the boy dead just as much as Uther-"

"Of course I don't." Arthur interjected. Morgana looked at him confused, Arthur sighed, his gaze turned to the young boy, "my father may have his reasons for killing people with magic, but this I don't agree on. The Druids are peaceful people… I couldn't harm an innocent child." Merlin watched both Morgana and Arthur in triumph; they were so much alike sometimes. "But I cannot betray my own father." He added dejectedly. Morgana stared at him, her expression shocked, and a little hurt.

"If I know you at all, you won't stand by and allow him to die," she argued.

"Arthur," Merlin breathed, grabbing the attention of the blonde headed clotpole. "You said to me earlier that if you had the choice to save the young boy, you'd take it." He reminded him, his tone soft yet meaningful. He knew that Arthur took his thoughts and ideas under consideration, so just a little bit more convincing and Merlin was sure he would help.

"But that was before I actually had to make the decision." Merlin nodded in understanding.

"Then it's your choice, Arthur."

Silence fell as everybody watched the young Prince make his decision. Morgana became restless, looking toward Merlin with worried expressions. He returned and looked at her with a 'trust me' sort of expression and she breathed in anxiously.

"Okay," Arthur finally spoke, looking at Morgana and Merlin with a determined stare. "I'll help." Morgana grinned widely and quickly hugged her brother lightly; he briefly smiled back and released her. "But you're going the wrong way. All the guards will be checking this east wing, you need to head north." Merlin shook his head,

"No, there's a secret passage way, just behind that cupboard," he admitted, his voice more alive and upbeat. The pan, worried look that was on his face five minutes before had turned to a more hopeful and healthy smile. Arthur nodded and made his way to the right side of the cupboard and began to push, revealing a hidden passage way, much like Merlin had said there would be. The door was already open to Arthur widened it for Morgana, the boy and Merlin to fit through.

"There's a tunnel that leads beyond the city walls, Gwen said she would put some horses nearby so as we can escape as quickly as we can," Merlin informed as they trudged down yet another hallway.

"To say you're such an idiot all the time Merlin, you've really thought this through… I'm impressed." Arthur admitted as he turned to look back at his servant. Merlin's face scrunched up in confusion,

"I'm sorry, I don't think I quite hard that, can you repeat t-"

"Be quiet, _Mer_lin." Arthur mocked, shaking his head playfully. Morgana watched them both with a small smile; they really were just like two daft, idiotic best friends. "I think I can see something," Arthur announced, squinting his eyes to see clearer.

And he was right. Not thirty yards away from them was the grate that covered the entrance to the tunnel. Merlin laughed, _**we did it. We got him out of Camelot.**_ _**His safe and so is Morgana. **_ He looked at Morgana with a pleased smile,

"Why are you looking at her like that?" _**Didn't Morgana literally say the same thing a few days ago?! **_ Merlin turned to see Arthur watching Merlin with a questioning look. Merlin shook his head,

"I wasn't loo-"

"Yes you was I just sa-"

"_Arthur_!" Morgana exclaimed, drawing the attention of both the 'fully grown' men. She pointed to the grate with a smile, Merlin and Arthur followed where she pointed and they both smiled as well.

"Gwen," Merlin called, jogging swiftly to the gate and sharing a wide grin with his friend.

"I got you your horses, but Merlin; I think the guards will notice. They've been searching everywhere; it was even hard to get the horses without anyone noticing." She informed with worry, her expression concerned. Merlin nodded,

"Thank you, Gwen. You're amazing." Morgana and Arthur soon caught up, smiling when they saw Gwen on the opposite side of the bars.

"Guinevere," Arthur greeted with an appealing tone, his expression enraptured with a joyful smile.

"My lord," she replied, her expression just as dulcet. Merlin observed the two with a hidden smirk, _**is something going on between them? **_But his attention was then drawn to familiar warmth on his palm; he glanced down and saw Morgana holding onto his hand tightly. He realised how he didn't pull away, the feel and rush of magic again so addicting to him, he gripped back just as tightly- reassuring her they were out of harms way.

"Merlin, we have to get going," her voice was quiet, barely audible, but Merlin could sense the tension and the worry. He nodded and then turned to the gate, he gave it a hard push, but it didn't budge.

"Merlin, you push like a girl, here," Arthur moved back, and then gave the gate a large push. The gate broke open and they all scrambled out. Arthur gave a teasing expression to Merlin, pointing at the tiny muscles on Merlin's arms. "Obviously, I don't give you enough chores to do. We need you _working fit_." He mocked, budging past him on his way to the horse. _**Working fit?! **_ He huffed as he made his way onto the brown horse. Morgana brushed past him and lifted the young boy onto the horse, making sure he was safely secure before jumping on herself,

"Don't bother with him, Merlin. Arthur's just upset that I beat him in swordplay when we were kids."

Both Gwen and Merlin laughed at that, and Arthur scoffed,

"You cheated! You kicked me!" He retaliated, his expression insulted as he turned on his horse. Merlin laughed again lightly and looked to Gwen who was still stood on the ground.

"Thanks Gwen, we'll see you later." He wished farewell. Gwen frowned,

"But what shall I say? All three of you gone at the same time, Uther isn't that easily fooled." Merlin sighed, she was right of course.

"Arthur, I think you should stay." Merlin confessed, looking at Arthur who was patting his well-trained horse. His head snapped up and he shook his head, his expression etched,

"No, I am to go with you if you wish t-"

"Uther would grow suspicious if he found out you _and_ Morgana were gone. We need one of you to stay, and…" He turned to Morgana, who was holding onto the boy with all her life. Arthur scratched his head, and then sighed,

"Of course," he jumped off his horse and walked over to Gwen. He turned to Morgana, "I'll say that you wanted a walk or some spare time…" He made up, looking to his friend with a smile.

"Thank you, Arthur. You too, Gwen." She thanked, genuinely grateful. They both smiled and nodded in return and Morgana turned to Merlin.

"Let's go." Merlin agreed.

"I managed to write a letter to the Druids when Gaius was healing him," he said, looking at the boy, "I said we'd meet them at the old oak tree, west of the castle." And from that they both took off.

_**\\Merlin/**_

They had travelled for a fifteen minutes, both Morgana and Merlin's horses staying close to another. The forest was pitch black, the canopy of the trees made it even darker. No light penetrated, even from the stars or the moon. A thick misty fog covered the floor, making Merlin feel even more on edge than he was before. His grip tightened on the horse's reins as he listened for any sudden movements or noises. The soft voice of Morgana made Merlin jump a mile,

"Merlin, how much further?" Merlin's heart race had sped up at a rapid pace, his chest felt as if it were to burst. He breathed out slowly and tried to recall what Morgana had asked,

"Ermm… Not much, we passed the little broken bridge earlier, so we're not far." Morgana nodded, and tightened the grip around the boy.

"I just want to get him safe."

"I know, we all do."

'_Emyrs…' _Merlin heard the whisper inside his head. _'Up ahead'_. Merlin looked up and saw three hooded figure stood waiting. They didn't necessarily look the friendly type, but Merlin could guess they were Druids; they wore the same tattoos that the young boy did. The leader of the group, Merlin had guessed seeming he looked the eldest, stepped forward. Merlin and Morgana stopped on their horses,

"We mean you peace, young persons."

Merlin bowed and moved off the horse, he turned and offered a hand to help Morgana down too. She raised her hands and allowed the boy to jump in her arms too. As soon as he touched the ground he ran to the elderly man. The man smiled and hugged the young boy, Merlin noticed Morgana's wide grin.

"We are forever indebted to you both, for returning the boy to us. This will always be remembered." The old man approved, his voice warm and earnest.

"You must not let it be known that it was us who brought him to you," Merlin assured.

"Of course not, your secrets are safe with us. You have my word." Before the three men and the boy turned to leave, the boy ran back and hugged Morgana tightly,

"Thank you, Morgana." He simply whispered, Morgana felt tears on the brink of falling from her eyelids.

"Take care," she whispered back. Merlin smiled at the scene.

"My name's Mordred," he confessed, looking up at Morgana.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the delay, this week and last week was the start of school. Had some results and coursework, but I've got everything sorted now, so updates should be up and running again. So there we go, that's the end of 'this' part of the story. But there's a whole lot more where this came from! I can't wait! **


	5. Do whatever it takes

Merlin sighed lazily as he watched the rain droplets fall down the window. One by one they fell, splashing onto the stone counter below. Merlin turned around, looked to see if anyone was about, and slowly opened the very detailed patterned window. The instated roar of the heavy rain welcomed his ears, he smiled. He always liked the sound of the rain. Helped him think. Merlin watched the rain intently, watching people in the square run indoors with clothes and cloaks over their heads finding shelter. He loved autumn, the fine smell of petrichor, the lovely shades of red and orange the leaves would create when scattered across the floors, _**that is until I have to swipe them up**_, and the relaxing nature everybody was in around the castle.

Nothing much happened recently. It was a few months after Merlin helped Morgana get Mordred out of the castle walls safely, and not much occurred since._** Weeeellll… Besides the fact Arthur was officially crowned King. **_He argued to himself with a smirked to himself at the memory, how Arthur confidently walked down the hall, his chin held high and his mind clear. Merlin didn't need the Dragon to confirm Arthur's destiny, it was obvious he was to become Camelot's finest King. Well, that's until a large black knight crashed through the window, threw his gauntlet on the floor and challenged Sir Owain to a fight to the death. Merlin grimaced, it all happened too quickly, Sir Owain had already picked up the gauntlet and there was nothing neither him nor Arthur could do to stop him from fighting against the knight. Sadly, he wasn't able to save him, or Sir Pellinore. Yet, after the help from the Great Dragon, Merlin managed to defeat Tristan De Bois by allowing Uther to use Excalibur and strike Tristan back to where he belonged.

"_Merr_lin," a voice called, not too happily down the corridor. Merlin jerked at the sound of his name and his elbow accidentally slipped off the counter, elbowing his stomach. He inwardly cursed and rubbed at his stomach and glanced toward the source of the voice, giving a murderous look to the window ledge. He huffed, shut the window and chased after Sir Pratness.

And there he was, idly sat on his delicately made wooden chair, rocking back and forth with a quill in his hand.

"You called, sire." Arthur smiled at the sight of his man servant, and he dragged his left foot on top of the expensive desk, pointing to it in a mocking disgusted expression.

"My boot needs polishing, and you're too busy looking through windows. Merlin you're not in some fairy tale land waiting for your beloved. You've got some serious work to do." Merlin rolled his eyes,

"And polishing boots is serious work?" He half mumbled to himself as he strode toward the wardrobe where he kept his cleaning necessities and pulled out a cloth. It was only until he shut the cupboard did he realise what else Arthur said, "And I'm not waiting for my beloved." He confirmed as he pulled out the chair opposite Arthur and started to polish his left boot, avoiding Arthur's knowing grin. Arthur scoffed,

"There's always Bernath the cook, Merlin. I think she's got an eye on you." Arthur joked, giving Merlin a nudge on the arm. Merlin grimaced,

"Egh," Merlin exclaimed, his face scrunched up. "Isn't she the one with the hairy nose?" He asked disgusted as he rubbed his arm where Arthur had punched. Arthur laughed lightly,

"She sounds perfect for you, Merlin."

A knock on the door broke Arthur from his laughter. Sir Leon entered the room, his springy hair cascading round his face.

"Sire, there's a woman outside requesting the presence of your man servant." He looked toward Merlin expectantly, "Says she's your mother."

Merlin instantly rose from his seat and charged past Sir Leon, giving him a nod of thanks before leaving. Arthur soon followed, patting his faithful friend on the back.

**\\Merlin/**

"Mother!" Merlin ran to his mum, his arms flinging around her back, hugging her tightly. He laughed lightly and pulled away to see her returning smile. He always loved that trait about his mother, how she would always look at him with that kind hearted expression that would melt away any concerns on his mind. But not this time. The bruises apparent on her face was too much of a distraction, Merlin raised his hand and placed it atop of her blackened cheek. "What happened?" His voice was rough, if anybody was to have touched her in anyway… His blood boiled. _He_ would rather be tortured and hurt himself than see anybody he loved bruised and beat. Hunith must have realised this as she too placed her palm on his cheek, her hands were so cold, but so welcome and calm. He gulped down the lump in his throat and looked into her eyes sadly. She looked so innocent, how could anybody have hurt her. "Who did this to you?" She bit into her bottom lip and shook her head lightly,

"It is not me I worry about, Merlin." She answered, her voice weak and fragile. Merlin's jaw clenched as he looked back at the black bruise that covered half her face. A loud gasp distracted him from behind; he turned and saw Morgana rushing toward them, her face panic-stricken as she noticed Hunith's state.

"Merlin," she called as she quickly stepped down the stairs, nearly tripping over her red dress in the process. As soon as she reached them she looked to Merlin for reasoning.

"Milady," he addressed as usual with a soft nod. Her face frowned as she observed Hunith from a closer distance. She shook her hand at him,

"Nonsense," she dismissed, as she turned back to him, her expression uneasy and concerned as she held onto Hunith's hand. "I heard Sir Leon mention that a woman was in need of help in the courtyard… So you are Merlin's mother I presume." She addressed to Hunith in a sweet voice. The older woman smiled at Morgana's politeness and nodded,

"My name's Hunith, my lady." Morgana smiled and pulled Merlin back away from her mother, so she could talk to him privately, for their ears only. She made sure no one else was around and turned to Merlin,

"Who did that to her?" She asked, her voice rash and barely in a whisper. He shook his head,

"I don't know."

"Well, this is going to be addressed to the King himself," she confessed confidently, allowing no excuses, or 'ifs' or 'buts' from Merlin. There was something in her eyes that made Merlin's hair stand on end. How she could so easily become attached to someone who is hurt or in need of help and let nothing stand in her way until she fully knows she has done all she can to help them. Much like with Mordred many months ago. But this was different. This was Merlin's mother, somebody Morgana had literally just briefly met for four seconds, and here she was, already trying to help her find justice.

**\\Merlin/**

Uther stood behind his throne, his arms wrapped around it as he listened intently to Hunith.

"The winters are harsh in Ealdor," Hunith tried to reason as she stood on a limp, holding onto her side. "And there are many children. Some of them just won't be strong enough to survive," she confessed. Merlin looked to the ground; he felt like he had let her down, he should have been there when his home was attacked. He licked his lips and turned to his mother, he barely recognised her due to the black bruise on her cheek, even the dark bags under her eyes masked her true self. He breathed in heavily and searched the room; nobody was with his mum, she must have come from Ealdor all on her own.

Morgana eyed Uther pleadingly, her brow furrowed and knit together, how could a 'might' King refuse to help such a poor woman. "We barely have enough food as it is, and if Kanen takes our harvest, our children won't live to see another summer. Please, we need your help," Hunith implored once more, her tone desperate. Merlin bit into his cheek as he watched Uther. The man in question sighed lowly and moved from around his throne to stand next to Arthur. Morgana glanced at Merlin, her face had changed to more of a determined stare and her jaw was set, Merlin stared back at her confusingly. What was she planning? She just gave him a reassuring nod which was somehow unnoticed by anyone else in the room

"Ealdor's in Cenred's kingdom. Your safety is his responsibility," Uther confirmed firmly, though his voice did show some pity. Merlin's hands clenched into fists as he watched his mother fight for the safety of her town.

"We've appealed to our King, but he cares little for the outlying regions," she explained, her voice was hush and she looked on the verge of giving up. But Merlin didn't falter, if there was one thing Merlin knew, it was that his mother never gave up easily.

"Surely we can spare a few men," Morgana offered as she stepped forward, even if she noticed Merlin's warning glare she thought nothing of it, she lifted her chin in confidence, not scared of the man before her. This wasn't just about Merlin and his home town. It was about Morgana getting Uther do something right, even if there were consequences at stake, _hell to them_. Damn the consequences. His decision may have been understandable from his position, but innocent people were being slaughtered and beaten. Action _was_ to take place, whether he agreed with it or not. However the effort was wasted as Uther completely ignored his ward, entirely disregarded what she had said- even Arthur looked taken aback at the rudeness. In fact, Uther even walked _around_ her, not even looking at Morgana or at least acknowledging her, as he moved to Hunith.

"I have the deepest sympathy for you and would have this barbarian wiped off the face of the earth." He admitted solemnly, giving Hunith a contrite nod. Merlin watched carefully, everyone was treading on thin ice, asking and asking for Uther's help, it wouldn't be long until he retaliated. Having thought that, he turned to Morgana, Uther had just blatantly ignored her, and the expressions on her face made it easy to know she wasn't too pleased. Before she moved to step forward again and reason further Merlin put his hand out- stopping her tracks. She gave him a questioning look, but moved no further. It was Arthur that time, who spoke forward,

"Father, is it so much as to take a few men to their tow-"

"Resources are not the problem," Uther retorted, his voice louder and from the sound of it, angrier. _How dear they question his judgement._

"Then what is?" Morgana further questioned, her voice agitated as she grew more and more impatient with the man before her. _**Is it so much to ask to help a poor woman? **_Uther stared at Morgana, his fore lines creased as he put his hands together.

"Ealdor lies beyond the Ridge of Essetir. For an army of Camelot to enter it would be an act of war," he explained, his voice harsh and direct. Morgana then faltered, surely there had to be another way for them to help without Cendred knowing. Hunith sobbed,

"I know you're a good king, a caring man. I'm begging you, help us, please." She begged. It pained Merlin _so_ much to see his mother openly cry in front of him, in front of everybody. He shook his head and sauntered toward her with open arms, hugging her comfortingly.

Morgana opened her mouth to speak once more, though she stopped as soon as she saw Arthur's warning expression. He shook his head; telling her not to push Uther any more. She bit into her bottom lip, _**this can't be happening**_.

"The accord we've struck with Cenred was years in the making. I cannot risk hundreds of lives for the sake of one village. I'm afraid Camelot cannot help."

It was settled then. The great King Uther would not help a woman in need.

Hunith's legs become weak as she fell to her knees; Morgana instantly ran over to help Merlin support his mother, she could see how heartbroken he looked. Both Merlin and Morgana led her out the hall but Morgana was sure to give Uther a deadly frown as she left. Once the large entrance door slammed shut the room turned quiet, spare the tiny whispers that were created by the other people in the room.

With the absence of his man servant and Morgana, Arthur too left the room, his mind pacing. He may have acknowledged why his father made his decision, he didn't want to start a war against Cenred, but Arthur just couldn't find it in himself to admit it was the _right_ thing to do. When he looked at Hunith, saw her crying her eyes out and pleading for help… Well, how could he reject her plead for help? He sighed frustratingly and shook his head as he moved out the back door, pushing it a little harder than was needed.

**\\Merlin/**

"How could he?" Morgana exclaimed as her, Merlin and Hunith entered Merlin and Gaius' chambers. Hunith had managed to stop crying and gain her strength halfway to the chambers, so there was no need for Morgana and Merlin's support, yet Merlin still stayed behind her just in case she accidentally lost her footing again. Merlin pulled out a chair for her to sit in as he still listened to Morgana.

"He was just doing what he thought was right," Merlin offered knowing that excuse wasn't necessarily a strong one. Morgana scoffed as she shook her head in disbelief, she crossed her arms and looked to the floor, a frown apparent in her expression.

Once Merlin checked to see whether Hunith was okay or not, he grabbed an extra chair from around the eating table, and sat on it next to his mum.

"I'm sorry mother," he apologised breathily, taking her hand and gripping it tightly. Hunith turned to face her son, he had grown up so much since the last time she saw him. She offered a kind hearted smile that made even Morgana's heart melt. She cupped Merlin cheeks in her hands,

"My boy…" She breathed out, so proud and pleased with the way her little son had grown into someone she had hoped he would become. The boy she's hoped he'd become, so trusting and polite and loyal. She shook her head softly and circled her thumb comfortingly on his left cheek like she did when he was little. "This is not you're doing. You can't stop the King orders, my boy."

"No but I should have been there with you when they cam-" Hunith shook her head once more as she listened to Merlin worry and blame himself again for something that wasn't his fault. She wouldn't allow herself to burden him further, instead she moved forward and pulled him into a tight hug, which he soon softened into.

Morgana stood where she was, captivated by the relationship of Merlin and his mother. She would have lied if she admitted she wasn't a little jealous, she had always wanted a relationship as strong as the bond between daughter and father, or daughter and mother. Uther may be her father like figure, but it still wasn't the real thing. She couldn't feel the connection between them both like she remembered with Gorlois.

"Thank you," Hunith thanked as she pulled away from their hug. She then turned to Morgana, that same smile she used on Merlin earlier absorbing any worry she had on her mind. _**How can she do that, look at anyone with that one simple smile and remove all their fears and doubts…Must be magic. **_Morgana smiled back sweetly, it was not often she was ever thanked.

"I don't like to see people suffer," she admitted quietly but with enough assurance. Merlin couldn't help but stare at her gawkily again; it was times like those, when she would do anything to help anyone in need, that he admired her so. He watched as she moved closer towards Hunith, bending over to check her injuries. "These wounds will get infected if left untreated," she acknowledged as she turned to Merlin. He nodded and stood up to walk over to the potions and medicines that were left lying around on Gaius' desk. He got was he needed and sat back on his chair, dabbing a cloth in some water and cleaning his mother's wounds. She flinched as the ice cold water burned her skin. He apologised and continued at a slower pace.

"I'm going back to Ealdor with you," he informed Hunith as he dabbed onto her cheek again. She nodded, expecting as such.

"It will be dangerous, Merlin. Kanen and his men are very forceful and will do any needs necessary to get what they want." She warned, flinching again as Merlin dabbed once more. "I don't want to see my boy get hurt."

"I won't. You know me, I'm always fine," he reassured with a false laugh that was convincing enough for Hunith to smile at.

"And besides," Morgana added, her voice a little louder than how they had all been talking before. "He's not going alone." Both Hunith and Merlin looked up in confusion, and then Merlin shook his head.

"No, definitely not. You- You could get hurt," Merlin responded as he looked at her quizzically, but Morgana just found it hilarious.

"I know how to fight, and besides, who would have you're back?" She replied with a challenging grin and arched eyebrow. Merlin faltered as he tried to think of any excuse, any excuse. He couldn't just take Morgana, The _King's Ward,_ into a battle zone; Uther would have his head before he could say _'I have magic!'_

There was a soft knock on the door and Morgana's smile grew even brighter.

"You can come in," she called, and Gwen entered the room, her hands full of armour and weaponry. Merlin stood up, his face bewildered, as he watched the two young women in front of him place the objects onto he dining table. Morgana turned around and grinned at Merlin's expression. "I said you weren't going alone. I more than guessed you would be going back to Ealdor, so I told Gwen to collect enough armour for the tree of us." Merlin sighed and looked round to look at Gwen,

"You're coming alone too? No, Morgana's enough; I can't take care of the _both_ of you." He explained, but it was no use. He even heard his own mother laugh at his words. _**Thanks mum**_. Gwen walked toward him, her hands behind her back,

"We owe it to you Merlin. If the roles were reversed you would help us no matter how much we denied your help…" Gwen admitted, she smiled at him softly, "you saved my life Merlin, I'm indebted to you."

"And you helped me get the druid boy from the castle," Morgana added.

Merlin sighed. He couldn't have changed their minds, so instead he hugged them both, squeezing them more than was needed and then turned to all the stuff that was piled on the table.

"Ah," Gwen jogged to the table and picked up an outfit. Merlin instantly groaned at the clothing, battle armour. _**Oh the joys…**_ But he had to hand it to Gwen; it was definitely fit for battle, the strong metal chainmail and the leather jacket looked secure enough to defend him from at least a very heavy blow to the chest. Gwen handed it over to Merlin, "Go try it on, I think I've got the measurements right, I remembered your height from the last time, so it should fit." He nodded in thanks and ran up into his bedroom, making sure the door was doubled locked; the last thing he needed was for the door to magically open and for him to be only in his underwear. He shuddered at the thought.

**\\Merlin/ **

Merlin entered the corridor leading to his chambers. Everything was ready. His armour and sword had fit perfectly, he told Arthur that he would be absent while at Ealdor for a while- though he never mentioned Morgana or Gwen- and his horses were fed and rearing to go. He reached his chamber door and opened it, an enthusiastic feel overtaking him. He opened the door to see Morgana and Hunith laughing together, tremendously hard, he even thought he could see tears in Morgana's eyes. Gwen too was in the corner laughing lightly as she continued to pack for their travels.

"Ummm," Merlin cleverly stated as he took a cautious step into the room. Gwen smiled and waved him over to her, he nodded and obliged, giving her a quizzical look. She shook her head playfully and tapped her nose in the _'it's for me to know and for you to find out'_ sort of way. He gulped, suddenly feeling conscientious.

Gaius entered the room without warned, automatically looking a little surprised to find Morgana, Gwen, Merlin _and_ Hunith in his chambers.

"Merlin, what is the meaning of this?" Merlin's yes widened, _**always my fault**_. Gaius nodded to both Morgana and Hunith whose laughing fits had soon died down.

"I'm going to Ealdor. Kanen, a bandit in Cendred's kingdom has threatened Ealdor, I can't just stay here Gaius," Merlin reasoned as he walked up to his mentor. A few seconds past as Gaius searched the whole room, everybody was waiting on his response. He sighed and nodded, hugging Merlin briefly.

"Just come back in one piece, my boy." Gaius noticed the wine bottle that Gwen had placed in a bag; he chuckled, "and be careful of the whine. You know what you're like. One whiff of a barmaid's apron and you're singing like a sailor." Merlin blushed as he heard everyone else in the room laugh.

"I'm sure I'll be fine Gaius."

"Well, make sure you are. Do whatever it takes."

\\Merlin/

* * *

**And there you have it, I'm so sorry it took a while to update, but I'm hoping this chapter made up for it. The last parts were quite nice to right, and I'm looking forward to where this fic is heading. So yeah, and oh. There will be significant changes in these few chapters to what there is in the show, but it will still easily follow that story line cause it it still link to the show storyline. Get me? **

**Hope you enjoyed it. And if you're new to this, then why not follow the story or add it to your favourites? Thanks again. **


	6. As am I

Half an hour had passed; Merlin and Hunith were still waiting for Morgana and Gwen. Of course, he didn't want to rush them, but picking up the pace wouldn't have been too bad either. He just desperately wanted to get to Ealdor as quick as he could, and as much as Gwen and Morgana were generously helping him, he didn't really want them to go. Not because he didn't like them or anything, but they would have gotten in the way, or, even worse, become hurt. He was still furious about his mother's injuries, but if his close friends were to get hurt… Merlin bit into his bottom lip.

Somebody disturbed him with his troubling thoughts by lightly squeezing his shoulder; he turned around to see his mother staring at him with a comforting smile. Merlin always thought it was a magic trick, but somehow Hunith had always sensed if he was distressed or worried. He gave her a weak smile in return, and then continued to pack some of the last food into his bag.

He hoped that Gwen had remembered to meet them at the back of the castle. _**Perhaps that's why they're late, maybe Gwen forgot?**_ It was Merlin that suggested their meeting point. He told Gwen that the back of the castle was their best shot of getting out of Camelot without being seen. The last thing they needed was Uther knowing of their absence. It would have been fine if it was just Merlin and Hunith, but because Morgana more than offered to come, then they had to be unseen.

"I forget sometimes you know." Hunith merely whispered to Merlin as she moved around the side of her horse. Merlin's eyebrows furrowed,

"Forget what?"

"How quick you can grow." Merlin laughed half-heartedly, he hadn't grown much, maybe an inch? And besides, he was still the same boy that lived in Ealdor, just that he was more acknowledgeable of his magic and powers. Surely he hadn't changed _that_ much. He noticed Hunith smile to herself as she began to climb up her horse, however, thanks to the badly bruised leg, she stumbled backward. Merlin automatically ran and caught her just in time; he stopped to take a deep breath, she was so close to falling and potentially breaking her back. He helped her up the horse properly and took a step back once he knew she was securely on the horse.

"I haven't grown that much," he finally replied with a reassured smile. Hunith chuckled and nodded in thanks. She started to stroke at the hair in front of his ear in a motherly fashion.

"For as long as you are in Camelot, you will always grow. Your powers, your kindness, everything that's good about you shines. And yes, perhaps some people don't see it yet, but give it time. You've already met a nice collection of friends Merlin," her voice was soothing and calm to Merlin's ears. "Keep them close." He nodded; his mother's advice was always the best. And with that he licked his lips and moved around to his own horse. Perfect timing too, as both Gwen and Morgana strolled toward them. They were both beaming, laughing with one and other like best friends should. Hunith's words ran through his head, _'A nice collection of friends'_, he grinned; _**yeah they are great aren't they?**_

As they come closer and closer Merlin started to notice their change in attire. Gwen was wearing a white blouse underneath a nice-looking brown jacket with her hair tied up; it was nice, seeing her in something different rather than her serving clothes. His eyes then moved onto Morgana, who was wearing … Well… Merlin's eyebrow rose as he closely inspected Morgana's choice of clothing; she wore a large pastel blue blouse that loosely hung from her figure, which was combined with an accessorised thick leather belt and dark green cloak which flowed behind her gracefully. Merlin blinked, it was different from her normal regal dress that was for sure.

They finally caught up to them, it appeared they had been laughing earlier as they were both heavily breathing and were red in the cheeks. Merlin couldn't help but feel curious at what they found so funny but knew it was probably nothing, or_ 'women talk',_ as Arthur would have called it. Merlin's smile faltered.

Arthur…

He would have asked him to come but having one royal member come along was already risky enough. If there were two royals absent from the castle it would be too suspicious, and plus Arthur could get hurt. _**No. He's safer back at Camelot.**_ He heard Gwen cough beside him and he looked up, noticing Gwen's frown.

"Merlin… There are only two horses," she pointed out, her voice turning to a more serious tone from the laughing state she was in. _**Ohh..**_

"Ah, righttt…" He replied sheepishly, scratching at his head as he turned to his mother's horse and then back to Morgana and Gwen, who were awaiting some sort of explanation. "I thought it would be better to use only the two horses. We would raise less suspicion with only two horses gone; if four were gone I think the King would be more than a little suspicious." He explained, earning an impressed look from Morgana. Tapping his horse lightly on the back, the horse stepped and turned so as he was facing them. "Anyway, there's enough room for two per horse."

Gwen smiled as she understood Merlin's clever little strategy, and so did his mum. However Morgana…

"Well then," Morgana spoke, "best get to it." She gracefully mounted Merlin's horse and sat in front of him, awkwardly pushing him back so she was in charge of the horse.

"Wh-" He budged back, looking at her in confusion. No, if anybody was going to ride the horse, it would be him. Morgana turned to him, watching his confused face scrunch up, and merely smirked.

"You said two per horse, you don't think I'm just going to sit behind you and do nothing all the way there do you?" She admitted playfully with a raised eyebrow, Merlin's eyebrows furrowed,

"B-but you don't know the way?" He retorted, did he just get beat by a girl? Arthur had always prophesied it was to happen, but so soon?

"Then you can tell me as we go," she countered with a smile as she spun around to see Hunith and Gwen smiling behind them, watching the two friends argue before the travelling had even begun. "You ready?"

"As ready as you are," Gwen replied, pulling on the horses reins and moving beside them. Merlin huffed as soon as he saw his mother's knowing smile. _**Yeah, nice collection of friends.**_

**\\Merlin/**

Merlin watched as the sky slowly spread into many different colours, crimson reds and oranges alike merging together to create a stunning landscape. The blues and purples of the sky gradually crept upon them as they trotted on their horses, revealing many stars that would soon cover the sky beautifully.

"Red sky at night, shepherds delight." His mother whispered, he didn't need to look at her to know she was smiling. He could literally hear the admiration in her voice; he had to agree it was certainly a spectacular view.

It was all so soothing, the calming scenery above, the soft sound of buzzing created by the fireflies that glowed in the night, the slight wind that refreshed his face, and the smell of fresh soap… His eye brows furrowed. _**Fresh soap? **_Merlin leaned back, the left side of his face tingling from where he must have leant on something… Or someone. He blushed; he must have dozed off and fallen asleep on Morgana's back during the ride. His face grew warmer by the second as he tried to look anywhere but her. _**Did she even realise? **_Though his quick movements to get away from Morgana obviously become noticed by others.

"Oh, look who's finally awake," Gwen announced in a mocking manner, _**oh great.**_

"Have a nice sleep, Merlin?" Morgana's voice was light and humorous as she continued to direct the horse. Merlin's cheeks reddened again,

"I was just testing the umm.." _**Quick, think of any excuse. I was umm… Testing the springiness of her hair! Yea- Wait, what? No!**_ He bit into his gum frustrated. He was unable to finish his sentence; there wasn't really a valid excuse he could use to reel his way out of that one.

"He used to nap like that when he was younger too; we would only be travelling for a few minutes then he would be dead asleep." Hunith confessed, embarrassing him even more. Gwen and Morgana laughed hard at that. Merlin just sunk down into the saddle, it was three against one, what was he meant to do?

"Maybe we should stop for a while; we're still about half a day's ride away from Ealdor and it's getting pretty dark," Merlin suggested, trying to change the subject. He felt, more than saw, Morgana nod her head,

"We can camp here for the night and continue riding in the morning."

Merlin sighed happily to himself in relief; at least he managed to change the subject quickly.

They slowed down both the horses and hopped off them, allowing themselves to stretch their legs after the long ride. Merlin grunted when he landed on his feet, horses were absolutely brilliant at getting you places, but they weren't too good for the _groin_ area. Gwen passed him with a smile and he fought the urge to wince. _**Nope, definitely not good for the groin area. **_

Morgana firmly tied a rope from the horses to a tree securely so as they wouldn't run off in the night. Gwen had busied herself with the supper, grabbing all the food she had packed for the travel and placing them around the soon-to-be campfire. Thankfully, Hunith had packed many blankets, so she busied herself by making some suitable beds for later that night. Merlin decided he should do something productive besides standing there, doing nothing, as he watched everyone else do all the work.

"I'm going to collect some firewood, I'll be back in a minute," he announced, stepping over a tree trunk and trudging his way through many branches. Morgana searched around for anything to do, but it looked like everyone had already done everything. She sighed but then realised Merlin had gone out to collect some wood, _**couldn't hurt for a little help.**_

"I'll come with; I have nothing else to do, so I may as well help." She yelled out loud enough for Merlin to hear as she hurried after him, she swatted away all the loose branches that threatened to whip her across the face as she reached him. Even in the dark his red scarf was still very noticeable.

"Hey," he breathed out as he bent over to collect a large piece of wood. She smiled as she too searched around for any large pieces of wood. She stifled a laugh. Merlin's hair was still sticking up from where he had fallen asleep on her back. She had to admit, when Merlin had fallen asleep on her back it was definitely unexpected, she knew Arthur worked him 24/7 and it must have been heavens call for any time to sleep, but she never thought about how all this must have affected him. He had been told his mother and home town were being threatened by bandits, if that were her she wouldn't have gotten much sleep either. So she didn't bother wakening him up, even with Gwen questioning gaze, she owed Merlin that much.

Merlin stood up straight, many wooden blocks in his arms, he watched as Morgana helped to collect more wood. He sighed deeply,

"You know you didn't have to come, Uthur will h-"

"Uther should realise that I'm old enough to make my own decisions," she interrupted, not rudely, but said stern enough to make him finally realise he should stop fretting about her, it wasn't irritating, however it was just tiresome- being constantly reminded by everyone that she should be _weary_ of Uther. She was scared of no one. Not Uther. Not his knights. No one. She plonked some of the wood she collected on top of the pile he carried. Merlin faltered, he was going to respond yet the assurance in her voice made him not. He could have spent all day warning her of Uther; he didn't want to see her get hurt.

So he didn't respond, instead he replaced his words with an intent gaze, as much as he hated stubborn people, he had to admit; it kind of worked on Morgana. How strong and bold she was, not caring about who she would have had to stand up to, whether it be a mere young knight or a might King, nobody would have frightened her.

She looked back at him just as carefully, staring at his disarrayed hair, his cheekbones and then his eyes. His eyes always seemed to amaze her. The colours being a striking blue, she remembered them well, the first time they properly met – when Merlin had crashed into her, sending them both flying to the floor– she had noticed those topaz orbs that instantly penetrated her very being, they were fierce and yet so very warm. She didn't know why, but the thought of losing eye contact first was… Discomforting? She couldn't explain it. But she knew she didn't want to look away first. She couldn't quite question his thoughts, whether he found her stubborn for not staying in Camelot or…

"You're very loyal to your friends Morgana, don't lose that," he admitted, the ends of his lips curving into a hidden smile. She blinked, damning herself for losing the eye contact first, and smiled back sheepishly,

"You're a good friend; you earned your loyalty when you helped me get Mordred out of the castle. I don't forget when a debt is due Merlin," she merely whispered, her breath now visible due to the cold change in temperature. Night had soon crept up on them. He gave her an all toothed grin,

"You have no debt to be due Morgana; I was just helping a friend," he pointed out as they walked shoulder to shoulder toward the camp again- they had collected enough wood for a week's vacation.

"As am I."

_**\\Merlin/**_

It was late at night and everybody was asleep, or so Morgana guessed. Sleep had never been a luxury for Morgana, not since she was little girl. It was always a struggle. Either terrible nightmares haunted her dreams, or she would have shuffled uncomfortably, not being able to find the most preferred position.

She didn't want to wake anybody so she just kept put. She wrapped the large red blanket that Hunith gave her around herself snugly and closed her eyes shut. She tried to think of anything that would set her off to sleep, she thought of her future, what she would look like in ten years' time, _**hopefully still beating Arthur at his own games**_, whether she would have her own Prince Charming, or if she would be ruling any kingdoms. _**I would make a great Queen. **_She shuffled around, attempting to get into a more comfortable position. She huffed quietly. Changing from a King sized bed to a raggedy blanket on the floor was definitely a change; she made sure she would appreciate that bed a lot more when they returned to Camelot.

She heard, or rather felt- seeming as everybody had slept closer together to keep warm in the atrocious cold- somebody shuffle beside her. She couldn't tell who it was as her back was turned to the person, but at least she knew it wasn't Gwen as she had slept opposite her, her face calm as she slept soundlessly. Which meant it was either Hunith or Merlin.

She listened carefully, seeming she couldn't see the person she thought she would at least try and hear what they were doing. She noticed how the person managed to light the fire, hearing the flickering of the flames. Morgana frowned, they used up the last of the wood earlier that night, there wasn't any wood left to burn. _**How is that even possible?**_ Morgana's attention soon changed when she heard somebody whisper.

"They shouldn't be here," she heard them mutter, _**is that Hunith?**_ Morgana frowned as she tried to listen more closely. But who was she talking to, must have been Merlin, had to be. "Especially the Lady Morgana. Isn't she the King's ward?" She heard Hunith whisper to who she thought was Merlin. Morgana appreciated the woman's kindness and then waited for Merlin's response.

"Not that you'd know it," Merlin joked, she could hear him laugh lightly. "She's the only person I know who isn't frightened of him," he added more seriously that time. "Morgana's a great friend, one I can trust…" His voice was soft as he had a mother-to-son moment with Hunith. Morgana smiled, to know that Merlin had her trust- and hopefully vicar versa- was heart-warming. She did love Merlin-_**in a friend's way, of course… **_He was that friend that everybody loved, could charm anybody with his kind personality and his true loyalty.

"You didn't want her to come did you? Or either of them," Hunith realised as she watched her son poke the fire with a long stick. He sighed as he watched the flames flicker from yellow to orange.

"I just don't want them to get hurt," he clarified, turning to his mother with a concerned expression. She licked her lips,

"It won't make a difference to Kanen if they're women," her voice was a mere whisper, knowing that probably didn't make her son feel any better at bringing them,

"I know," he resented, his voice flat and gravelly. He blinked; it was men like Kanen he would perish of the world. To hurt innocent people: mothers, daughters, _and children_. Somebody had to stand up to them, and it just so happened to be Merlin. With the help of Gwen and Morgana of course, but he planned to hold them somewhere safe while he dealt with Kanen _alone_. "But I couldn't talk them out of coming."

Morgana bit into her bottom lip. She knew men like Kanen, vile and hatred beings. But that didn't stop her from helping a friend. Merlin had put his life on the line to help her, and she would do the same.

"I want to make him pay for what he did to you," she heard Merlin mutter. Morgana hardly blamed him, if anybody was to have hurt Arthur or Gwen, or even Merlin, she would have had her revenge to.

"Promise me you'll be careful. No one can find out about you."

Morgana frowned. _**Find out about him**_. What, did he have some sort of condition or problem? If so then she expected Merlin would have told either her or Gwen, especially if it were something that resulted into him being hurt.

"They won't. They never do." She heard Merlin respond reassuringly. His voice sounded more optimistic than negative, so Morgana guessed it was something he didn't necessarily share with most people and kept hidden. Morgana felt insulted more than anything, she hadn't kept any secrets from hi- _**Actually.**_ _**No that's a lie.**_ She hadn't told anybody of her nightmare, well besides Gaius but he denied them. Said it was natural for a girl her age, which she knew was a lie.

She begun to listen again when she heard somebody shuffle from their position,

"Get some rest." Oh, so it was Hunith who had moved to her _bed_. Morgana felt a twinge of guilt; she had just listened into a private conversation. Well, it's not like she could have fallen asleep with them two talking about her and Kanen and the events to come was it? Well that's what she'd told herself with anyway. Just before she decided at another attempt of sleep she heard one last word from Merlin.

"Draca."

She didn't understand what he meant, so she decided to ignore it. Though, she swore she saw, from the shadow on the floor beside her, a shape of a dragon form from the flamed of the fire. Morgana frowned. _**No, I'm seeing things. **_She rubbed at her eyes and then back at the shadow, the dragon was gone. Morgana squinted her eyes and then dismissed any crazy thoughts that had entered her brain. _**No, just the lack of sleep getting to me.**_

_**\\Merlin/**_

* * *

_**Oh my days, so what did you think of that, eh? Hope you liked this chapter, the beginning for me was hard to write for some reason, but I gradually got through it. So, yeap. Um, I love to have as much feedback as possible, so even if you review with just a comment saying what you specifically liked- or disliked even- then I would be forever happy. And I'll reply to you too! **_


	7. You're like a pair of children

Morgana had woken up first between the five of them. Well in all honesty, she didn't fall asleep in the first place; she didn't want her nightmares to awaken her or her friends, so she didn't go to sleep. Not that it mattered much. She had sort of gotten used to the sleeping pattern now, never getting any sleep. Yet it wasn't just her lacking the sleep. Poor Gwen would have to rush into her room and comfort her every time, no wonder she was as tired as Morgana the next day. Morgana wondered whether Gaius could make a more concentrated remedy for her, even if it was to gain an extra hour sleep.

She considered where she sat and frowned. The thought of being warmed by the fire was very welcoming, but she was in such a comfortable position. She sighed and stood lazily- making sure to stretch first- and ambled her way to the round collection of stones, collecting tiny pieces of wood along the way. Literally dropping herself down onto the wooden log, she yawned, and began to start the fire. She grinned to herself in achievement as soon as the fire lit. As the fire gradually spread through the wood she took in her surroundings. Water droplets fell from the branches and leaves as the sun slowly melted away the light frost. It wasn't quite summer, as some leaves were yet to fall from the trees, but the temperature was soon dropping.

The crackling of the fire drew her gaze from her observing state. She frowned as she watched the flames change from orange to red, the memory of the night before clouded her thoughts. Merlin had managed to start the fire without any wood. He must have because Gwen used it all up cooking their supper. Yet it wasn't just that either, she could have sworn she heard him say… Well, that was the thing. She didn't honestly know what he said. Maybe she was completely wrong and she just _imagined_ him saying something, or maybe she did eventually drift off to sleep. She licked her lips and shook her head. _**No, I was definitely awake.**_Except, she couldn't have been awake because no way could Merlin have miraculously created a fire, it wasn't physically possible. _**Unless he has magic.**_ Morgana snickered at the thought, **Merlin, a sorcerer. **No, she must have been asleep...

"How long have you been awake?"

Morgana jumped out her skin. Startled at the voice, she instinctively grabbed a twig and pointed it to the enemy… Who was Merlin… Merlin's eyebrow rose as he regarded the deadly weapon. _**A twig?**_ He put his hands up in surrender jokingly, only to notice Morgana blush and mutter something under her breath. Out of everything she could have used as a weapon, she chose a thin dainty stick. She heard Merlin laugh breathily as she budged over on the log, allowing Merlin to sit next to her. He took the twig from her hands and laughed once more, mocking her choice of a weapon. If it would have been Arthur mocking her like that Morgana she would have snatched that twig and beat him with it until he realised just who he was mocking… But as it was only Merlin, she just decided to laugh along with him.

"Sleep doesn't really come around often," she replied finally. She gave Merlin a weak smile as he put his hands out to the fire to warm himself. He licked his lips, the smile on his face slowly faded as he watched Morgana subconsciously frown. He understood Morgana had difficulty sleeping, he would always deliver Gaius' remedy for her, however he never really considered asking her about her dreams or nightmares. After all, if she wanted to talk about them then he was all ears, he wouldn't have pushed her into telling him about her troubles.

"I can ask Gaius to make you a stronger dose, if you want." Merlin offered with a smile, throwing the twig, which he still held in hand into the fire. Morgana turned to him and beamed. Her pearly whites reflected from the fires light.

"Thank you, Merlin." He nodded. They both turned when they heard shuffling, Gwen was slowly waking up. Her head popped up from her blanket, Merlin and Morgana laughed at the piece of hair that stuck up due to the static of the blanket. She dismissed them with her hand, rolling her eyes light-heartedly at their childishness. She carried the blanket with her as she joined the two round the camp fire, all the while giving Merlin and suggestive look. He furrowed his eyebrows and lowered his head, watching the fire flicker.

"Did you sleep well, my lady?" Gwen asked happily, her voice warm and content as she pulled out fruit from her bag that was on the floor. Morgana smiled as she took the apple from Gwen that she offered,

"I've told you. The _both_ of you," she said looking at both Gwen and Merlin with a meaningful look; "you can call me Morgana."

"Yes my la-" Gwen froze, remembering what Morgana had just told her, "I mean Morgana." Morgana nodded with a sweet smile and bit into her apple.

"So Merlin…" Gwen breathed as she also offered him a fruit; he took one gladly and bit into it, automatically tasting the sweet flavour of apple. They were just right, not too ripe and not too unripe. And they were red too. Merlin blinked as he waited for Gwen to finish her sentence. "What's Ealdor like? Is it like Camelot or-"

Merlin openly laughed. Gwen turned to Morgana in confusion, she shrugged her shoulders slightly, not understanding what was so funny either. They both waited for Merlin to stop laughing,

"I'm sorry," he chuckled as he shook his head. "But um, no, Ealdor isn't much like Camelot, in any way."

Gwen frowned; she had lived in Camelot all her life, much like Morgana. She didn't have that much experience in the 'outside world', she was so intrigued, and plus it was Merlin's hometown. She didn't know anything about Merlin's life before Camelot, what his job was, who his friends were, what his hobbies were.

"Well, surely you can tell us something about it?" Morgana asked, intrigued herself. Merlin licked his lips; there really wasn't anything interesting about Ealdor- just many plain fields and an unlimited supply of boredom. If there was one thing he liked about his hometown it would be the people there. His mother, obviously. His next door neighbour, the farmers, the nice old woman who would always give him fresh bread every Monday, and the little kids that would prank just about everyone. But mostly his best friend Will. Merlin sighed, took his last bite into his apple and stood.

"There really isn't much to tell, well, stuff that wouldn't bore you to sleep anyway," he replied honestly.

A twig snapped in the distance, everybody's head instantly turned, all their smiles and smirks changing to worried, anxious expressions as they checked around them. Merlin lowered into a crouch, placing his finger to his lips, looking at both Morgana and Gwen, signalling them to stay quiet. They both nodded as Merlin tip toed out toward the noise.

He winced as a twig he trod on snapped. _**Damn twig**_. He searched around; mist was still in the air, making it even harder to see any oncoming movements. He gulped when he felt something sharp dig into his back, he knew _somebody_ would have heard the twig. Merlin closed his eyes, waiting to be struck down.

"I'd ask you for money, but I know you don't have any."

Merlin's eyes opened as he turned around to the source of the voice, an all toothed grin spread across his face.

"Arthur!"

It was very unexpected, Merlin would have admitted that. It was _Arthur_, out of everybody that could have threatened him with a sword. Him. Lord of all Clotpoles.

"I saw the fire from the campfire, figured it was a good shot," Arthur smiled as he tapped his friend on the back. Merlin nodded as he led the way back to camp.

_**\\Merlin/**_

Morgana rose from the log, Merlin had been fifteen minutes, he should have been back. Gwen looked toward Hunith, who they had decided was best to wake, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"He should be back by now," Morgana confided as she moved toward her horse, and retrieved her sword. Gwen's eyes opened as she ran up to her friend,

"Morgana, you can't go out there. You could get hurt," Gwen worried as she tried to convince her friend, it was worrying enough having to wait for Merlin, not knowing Morgana too.

"Don't worry, nobody's hurt. Well, maybe Merlin's dignity but…"

"Arthur," both Morgana and Gwen exclaimed simultaneously as they turned toward the servant and the prince. Merlin laughed at how much their tone in voice and facial expressions differed. Gwen's face was in awe, obviously happy of Arthur's arrival whereas, Morgana dramatically rolled her eyes and her tone mocking, just to tease him and rile him up. Arthur and Morgana were so much like brother and sister it was untrue.

"Lovely to see you too Morgana," Arthur responded light-heartedly, as he walked toward them after throwing his sword into the floor. "And besides, didn't think you could leave me out of this friendly trip, right?" He added smugly. Morgana sighed, she would deny it if asked, but she did love Arthur. She was happy to see his smug, obnoxious self.

"Right, I'll umm, prepare breakfast then," Merlin offered as he collected the dishes and the food. Gwen nodded and rushed beside him,

"You do the dishes and I'll do the food, it'll get done quicker that way," Gwen instructed as her mind set on what she had to get done.

"Maybe me and Arthur can be of some use?" Morgana stated as she watched Gwen stab a stick through some meat and then place it on top of the fire.

"I wouldn't expect you to do anything like that Morgana." Gwen replied modestly as she moved onto help Merlin with the dishes. Morgana frowned, just because she was the King's Ward didn't mean she couldn't do simple tasks and help. She licked her lips and shook her head as she budged Merlin out of the way gently and worked on the dishes herself. She smirked at Merlin's surprised expression, be damned if she did nothing while they did all the working. She noticed Gwen smile and acknowledged that Gwen must have been too uncertain to say yes to Morgana request for help.

"How much further is it?" Arthur called over to Merlin as he helped Hunith pack all her things, earning a grateful smile from her.

"Er, maybe a few hours." He replied as he placed all the chopped vegetables into a pot, he whipped at his brow; the fire had made him sweat a bit.

"How many men does Kanen have?"

Morgana and Gwen both looked at each other as they awaited Merlin's response.

"Erm, I'm not sure. I think, from what my mother said," he spoken in a gruff voice as he nodded to his mom, "maybe as many as forty." Arthur licked his lips and stopped himself from sighing. They were outnumbered. Definitely outnumbered. He positioned his foot on a log and then placed his arm on his leg; his head leant on his hand. He gulped and then nodded.

"Right," he breathed out. "Okay, well, we should start travelling again after we've eaten and packed. We could get there before dark." Everybody nodded and continued with what they were doing.

_**\\Merlin/**_

Merlin grasped at his aching sides as they continued to travel to Ealdor, they were only minutes away, and he could smell the familiar scent of home- the roses and blue badories that grew around his village. He had been laughing for the last ten minutes, his sides and cheeks were killing as he listened to Arthur and Morgana's discuss, or rather argue, about their childhood and how Morgana used to beat him up when they were young. Morgana was currently glorified in the way she had so quickly riled Arthur up; he hated losing, specifically to Morgana. And she was just rubbing it in his face, Merlin found it hilarious.

"You cheated, Morgana!" He accused, his face had become red making Morgana laughing in his face even more, which would just infuriate him further. Arthur huffed moodily and then clenched his jaw. _Stupid Morgana and her secretly amazing sword skills. _

"Whatever you say Arthur. I just know for a fact that after you _beat me_," she expressed the last two words mockingly with a knowing grin. "You cried for days in your bedroom and wouldn't let anyone in." Merlin openly laughed at that, earning himself a death glare from Arthur. Actually, laughing at that was his worst decision as Arthur smiled evilly and turned toward Merlin.

"And what about you, _Mer_lin." Arthur accused, punching him in the arm.

"Oh, leave him alone Arthur, what harm has he ever done you?" Morgana commented, giving Merlin a nod of reassurance. She knew, from many years' experience, that if Arthur was getting embarrassed he would always manage to embarrass someone else with him so as he didn't feel so stupid. Arthur's eyebrows creased as he pointed to Morgana, a goofy knowing grin planted on his face.

"You're very protective of Merlin, Morgana," he laughed as he looked to Merlin. "You'd think you'd have a crush on him." He added on, smiling in all his joy and glory, knowing that would have angered Morgana. Her face set and she scoffed,

"Please, you're just upset that Merlin's not on your side," Morgana countered, shoulder budging Arthur brutally. He rubbed at his shoulder mockingly, miming the words 'ow' just to annoy Morgana further.

"Honestly, you're like a pair of children." Gwen said out loud as she shook her head half-heartedly.

"The only child here is Morgana," Arthur whispered under his breath, loud enough for only Morgana to hear, who gave him a death glare in return and continued to ride on her horse.

"Kanen!" Somebody shouted, not very far from where they were. Everybody, Arthur, Gwen, Hunith, Merlin and Morgana turned simultaneously toward the direction of the yell. Arthur and Merlin didn't wait for anybody to say anything; they instantly pulled on the horses reins making the horse speed in the direction of the yell. As Arthur galloped toward the direction at full speed Merlin realised he had recognised that voice, it was somebody from his village, Matthew. And going from the shout he had heard he, Matthew was in trouble. Merlin waited impatiently to get to his hometown; nobody was to get hurt while he was there. No one.

\\Merlin/

**Thank you so much you guys for all this lovely support. I've been going around all my preffered college open days, the past few days, and I'm choosing English Language as an A level, so this is brilliant practise. Again, all criticisms are open for me to have. The plot will definitely be thickening the next two chapters. Let's just say, that maybe Merlin isn't as good at keeping his secret in this AU. Hehe. **


	8. Sick of being lied to

The horse hurdled over the overgrown branch and proceeded to gallop at top speed toward the large group of civilians surrounding Matthew, who at that time was sprawled across the floor with his face scrunched up in a desperate and pleading manner, glancing toward _anybody_ for help. Merlin's jaw clenched as he watched Kanen's axe- which was already worriedly splattered with blood- rise. The light reflected off the axe scornfully and Merlin's eyes scrunched closed at the blinding light.

He had expected to open his eyes to see Arthur attacking Kanen with his sword, but he certainly did not.

When he opened his eyes again he noticed everything unexpectedly turned into slow motion. Everybody's movements had minimised and decelerated. Merlin frowned as he searched around him, had he accidentally conjured up a spell without meaning to? Perhaps the rush and adrenaline had set off a defensive sort of aura to calm down his nerves. Merlin gulped, he wasn't entirely sure what the hell was happening, and the thought frightened him, what if Arthur and the many people in his town realised he had cast a spell.

The thought was cut off however, as he found himself distracted by the sight of his and Arthur's horse gradually and slowly closing in on Kanen. They were only a few mere metres away from the heartless murderer. It was almost surreal, Merlin was moving at a normal pace while everyone and everything else was moving at a slower pace.

Strangely enough, Merlin realised it was a lot easier to notice all the little details around him. He noted the determined glare in Arthur's eyes as he slowly unsheathed his sword, something he wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the slow motion. He also noticed how the women around them clenched onto their children, covering their scared and frightened eyes from the menacing and vile site, while the men protected them bravely, standing in front of them and shielding them from harm's way.

As Merlin turned back around to view Kanen, he noticed Gwen, Hunith and Morgana in the corner of his eye- galloping after them in the distance. His first instinct was to cast them away, far away, back to Camelot where they couldn't be harmed. He recognised Gwen and Hunith's panic stricken and alarmed faces as they hurried their horse to gallop faster, yet when he glanced at Morgana... Though he only had milliseconds to see properly, he could have sworn he saw her face scrunched up in confusion, as if she was puzzled by where she was. But what concerned Merlin most was the fact she wasn't in slow motion like everyone else. She was moving at a normal pace, like him.

Frustratingly, he didn't have any time to think on it because once he turned back around everything seemed to regain its normal speed. Almost instantly Arthur's sword swooped down to Kanen's axe, the clashing of metal to metal sounding the distinctive metal ring which echoed the whole town.

Merlin had to blink a few times to get used to the normal pace of things. Arthur had already jumped into action, telling civilians to run away while he fought off two bandits on his own- who he managed to easily knock out within seconds.

"Kill them!" Merlin heard Kanen bellow behind him, his voice showed no sign of submission or remorse, just solid hatred. Merlin's breathing intake quickened as he too jumped from the saddle and retrieved a sword from its holder, his hands shaking nervously. He wasn't professionally trained for that sort of combat.

Without warning, a bandit who had secretly waited in a shadowed corner, aggressively kicked Merlin from behind the knees; he groaned and fell to the floor, watching as the bandit smirked at him, aiming his fully sharpened knife toward his neck. Merlin had no time to react; only managing to crawl and back up against a wall, putting his sword out to deflect the enemies attack. The smirk had not wiped from the man's filthy, scarred face as he continued to trap his bait in the corner. He raised his weapon and thrashed it down with force, only for the familiar sound of clashing metal to ring through Merlin's ears. He thought he would never be so happy to hear that sound again. He opened his eyes only to find Morgana battling the bandit with her own sword; she fended him off, keeping both their swords up high. Merlin took the chance to boot the man in the _not-so-fond-area_, making him fall to his knees with a loud groan, allowing Morgana to punch him to unconsciousness. The man dropped to the floor heftily, dropping his sword in the process. Morgana kicked it away.

Merlin briefly glanced at Morgana. She smiled at him fondly enough; the corners of her lips curving into that innocent smile she had learnt to perfect effortlessly, but Merlin knew she was still concerned about before. _That_ incident. He breathed out heavily; he didn't know what she saw, so how could he say anything without giving himself away? He couldn't bring himself to say anything; she may have not seen _anything_, so he patted her on the back appreciatively and continued to fight the remaining bandits.

As he viewed his surroundings, his head spun dizzily, everything was happening all at once. Thugs were attacking women, Arthur was in the middle of deflecting a heavy blow from a younger man and his mother was defending a group of frightened children. Turning back to Morgana, Merlin licked his lips, maybe he should stick with her; they made a pretty good team back then. But then he thought about it and realised that he may have to avoid her for the time being, even if the thought did depress him slightly. **She knows too much. **His troubled thoughts were put to a standstill when he was pushed to the ground forcefully. He may have been taken by surprise and landed on his elbow funny, but that didn't affect him because that's when he saw _him_. Will. His old time best friend. Who, at the time, seemed to be struggling against a bandit.

"Hætende," Merlin muttered as he picked himself up off the floor, he knew everybody was too focused on attacking each other for them to notice him. As soon as the spell spilled from his lips, the sword that belonged to the man Will was attacking glowed orange and then red. The bandit yelped in pain from the scorching hot object giving Will the perfect chance to stab him. As soon as the man was out of harm's way, Merlin briefly smiled at Will, who nodded back. Merlin's head turned when he heard Morgana laugh in a melodic type way.

"Bring back memories of when I used to beat you?" She asked mockingly as her eyebrow rose in what would be received as a challenging remark. Merlin watched as Arthur kicked away a young man who had tried to attack him from behind and shook his head dismissively.

"That never happened." He stated firmly, pushing Morgana in a childlike manner after he killed the man. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind but was too late as Arthur had already rushed after Kanen, meaning Merlin had to follow him.

The man in question, who before had so cockily threatened a weak man, had cowardly mounted back onto his horse. He scowled at each individual,

"You'll pay for this with your lives! All of you!" He yelled bitterly and with distaste, sending shivers down Merlin's spine. Guessing from his tone of voice, he wasn't lying.

Morgana and Merlin stood behind Arthur; her face poised and his etched as they watched the spineless leader retreat. Morgana then grinned in victory, hugging Merlin briefly. Merlin blinked several times, these surprise hugs were becoming more frequent,_**not that I mind. Morgana's a good friend after all**_**.** He attempted to hug her back but she was already gone, searching around for her maid servant. _**Yeah,**_ _**so much for **__avoiding__** her.**_ He watched as Morgana found Gwen, who was stood in front of Hunith protectively, with a pitch fork. He saw Arthur stare at her bewildered and slightly _impressed_, Merlin's eyebrow rose, impressed? _Him_. Arthur Pendragon? No, he must have had something in his eye, no way. And something even more mind boggling. _**A pitch fork?**_ Merlin shook his head as he looked back to Gwen, and his eye didn't deceive him. She had defending the town… With a pitch fork. Merlin heard Morgana laugh out loud as she ran to her and hugged her tightly- not caring if she was seen hugging a person in a lower ranked position than her.

Merlin shook his head, laughing softly as he watched his friends celebrate. He felt joyous and truly relieved. Nobody had gotten hurt and Kanen had run off in retreat. And to top it all off, he witnessed Arthur being impressed by someone. And not by himself. The day had certainly turned into an eventful one.

"You still up to the same old magic tricks again?" He heard someone whisper next to him. Merlin grinned before he even turned to the voice. "Look, I thought I told you I didn't want your kind around here?" Will's tone was stern, matching his stone cold expression. Merlin paused, and knew better than to take him seriously, as he jogged up to his friend with open arms.

That time it was Morgana who watched the man servant hug _his_ best friend. A wide smile crept amongst her face; she hadn't seen Merlin ever do _that_ smile before. Though, as she continued to watch the boy, other thoughts of him snuck their way back into her mind from earlier. She had tried to remember the incident. From what she could recall, she had chased Merlin and Arthur on her horse toward the town and then… Morgana's eyebrows knit together. The most bizarre happened. Everything had slowed. And of course, she hadn't admittedly accused Merlin for causing such events, but she could have sworn, from the milliseconds she briefly looked into his eyes, he too was immune to the _spell_. Morgana licked her lips, first the campfire, now that. At first she was turning a blind eye for Merlin, but now… Suspicions were too high. What was Merlin hiding?

"I miss you, too, Will." Merlin confessed jokingly, patting his friend on the back. It had been so long since he had seen his face, and it was clear Will had matured over the past few years since he had been away. His shoulders were broader and his jaw line was more defined, but besides that he was still the same old Will. The same boy who used to help him play tricks on the old women down the street, and who helped him play _knock, door, _run on unlucky pulled away from the hug after a few seconds, they were men now, and men don't hug- _**for long periods of time**_. Merlin sighed happily, all he wanted to do was noogie Will and perhaps do their secret hand shake they invented when they were little. _**What, we were young, very young.**_ "It's good to see you again," he added on with a smile.

"How've you been?" Will asked, genuinely interested, his friend hadn't changed much appearance wise but he hoped he hadn't turned into no posh arrogant prat either. "I, er, hear you're skivvying for some prince." His eyebrow rose sceptically, he never did like the royals.

"No," Merlin replied a little too quickly, shaking his head repeatedly. He uneasily laughed and scratched at his head. _**Okay, maybe that's a **_**teensy**_** lie**_. "I wouldn't say I'm a skivvy," he corrected while scoffing_**, yeah like I'd ever skivvy for Arthur.**_

"_Merlin_!" He heard the much too familiar yell of Arthur Pendragon. Merlin instantly rolled his eyes and turned to look at his master. "Gather the villagers; I need to talk to them," he instructed, pointing to the people around him. Merlin nodded and Arthur then sauntered past him, making his way to a little open area. _**Great**_. He sighed and gave Will an apologetic look as he begun to gather up individuals and send them to Arthur. Luckily for him, Gwen and Morgana had caught up to him.

"Arthur's already got you doing chores?" Morgana asked with a frown upon her face. She hadn't asked Gwen to do anything yet, even though she still did them for her own entertainment. Merlin shrugged his shoulder in return and started to stroll to the group of older people across the path. Both Gwen and Morgana looked at each other, they could both tell how desperate Merlin was to talk to his friend.

"Merlin," Gwen called, making him turn around. "There's no need to do this, I can do it," she offered sweetly. Merlin gave her a baffled look. She nodded at Will, her voice soft along with a friendly smile, "you two can carry on talking, and get to say hi properly." Will's eyebrows rose as he watched the servant girl hurry people to Arthur, leaving Morgana to stand with Will and Merlin. She smiled at Will and then decided to help Gwen; she could talk with Merlin later.

**\\Merlin/**

After Morgana and Gwen had gathered everybody around Arthur, which he soon noticed Merlin failed to do resulting in him calling him a useless prat, Arthur waited for everybody to stop talking. He viewed each and every person there, the men, the woman, the children and even the elderly. They were like one big family. Arthur tried coughing to grab everyone's attention. The commotion soon died down and Arthur soon had sixty eyes stare him down.

"I know Kanen's kind," he started, his voice assured. "He'll be back. And when he is, you must be ready for him." Many people then started to talk again, whispering things, words of pessimism. However, Arthur continued to talk for the people still listening. "First of all, we have to prepare for-" Though his sentence was interrupted when Will stood out of the crowd, his face cynical and not at all happy.

"Am I the only one wondering who the hell this is?" He announced openly, gaining a few nods from the crowd. Arthur looked taken aback; it was almost unnatural for him not to be acknowledged by surrounding people, not trying to sound big-headed or over confident. He was always known as Prince Arthur, everyone knew who he was.

"I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot." He announced honestly, earning a few gasps, though that did not impress Will, in fact he more or less scoffed in his face.

"Yeah, and, er, I'm Prince William of Ealdor." He replied in a sarcastic tone. Morgana had slowly begun to grow impatient with this William boy, only she could speak to Arthur in such ways.

"He's here to help you and he's probably the best chance you've got," Morgana remarked honestly, her voice modulated as she stood up for her brother. Will didn't respond so she continued. "We need to be ready for Kanen, so I think we should prepare for Kanen's return and make him wish he never came here in the first place." Morgana proposed, coming out of the crowd herself and earning a few _'who the hell are you?'_ looks. She dismissed them and held her head high, noticing Arthur's tiny smile beside her. Be damned if _she_ were spoken to like that, and he's the Prince for heaven's sake.

"Yeah, that's all well and good but we can't fight against Kanen. He has too many men," Will countered, his voice a little calmer as he spoke to Morgana. He wouldn't shout at a lady, especially if he was Merlin's friend.

"So what's the alternative?" Arthur asked, the question proposed for anybody around to answer. Will rubbed at his chin, feeling the slight stubble that had grown there, and considered his question.

"Give him what he wants," he concluded. "We'll manage, we'll survive," he guaranteed, though his tone was so assured.

"Children will die if they don't have the food they need," Morgana responded as she witnessed a little child cry into his mother's arms. She could understand why Will was so potent to give up and let Kanen have what he wanted, he wanted no harm to his people, but she had to get Will to see sense, see the bigger picture.

"No. He just wants the honour and glory of battle!" Will exclaimed, pointing to Arthur accusingly. "That's what drives men like you! Look, if you want to fight, then go home and risk the lives of your own people, not ours!"

Merlin at that point decided enough was enough; he too stood out from the crowd. He found it was a weird sensation, to have familiar eyes look at you in desperation and fear. He motioned behind Morgana, so as they were shoulder to shoulder,

"Will, please. Listen to Morgana and Arthur. If I have trust in anybody, it's these two, Gwen, my mother and you." He attempted to calm his friend down. "Arthur's been in many fights like these before, he knows how to train. And Morgana probably knows as much as Arthur," this earned him a death glare from Arthur, "if we're to die, we die fighting. _Together_." Overall the whole thing sounded like some cheesy movie, but it was reality, and Merlin didn't want to fight with his best friend. Not at a time like that.

"You can count me in too," he heard Morgana agree beside him, giving him a slight assuring nod. And that was all it took. Once Morgana had spoken those words many of the people in the crowd repeated them, raising their weapons in glory and confidence. It took only seconds for the whole town to be chanting and yelling, riling up and ready for the battle for victory.

Merlin pursued his lips; he always knew his hometown was something special. Though when glanced back round to check on Will's response, he was already gone, he had walked into a nearby farm house completely frustrated and baffled by the people's response to fighting back. Merlin was to chase after him until a hand held him back.

"Leave him be for now," Morgana simply whispered in his ear, the loud yells and shouts of the crowd would have made it too hard to hear if she had spoken normally. He licked his lips, looking back to the barn Will was in, and then back to her. He nodded.

"Thank you… For what you did just… It was very brave of you to stand out of the crowd like that," he acknowledged, giving her another smile, even if the maddening thoughts of earlier kept running through his head. _**She knows you have magic. She knows you have magic.**_ Morgana took a while to respond, instead just staring into his cobalt coloured eyes. She blinked and smiled back,

"There are children and innocent lives at stake, if any of them were to get hurt-" she trailed off, her jaw clenching and her face turning into one of worry. Again, Merlin was surprised by the amount of kindness Morgana kept hidden within her; she always managed to surprise him every time they talked. With how she treated Arthur, with her endless teasing, mocking and occasional banter, you wouldn't expect to see her so fragile when it came to helpless civilians. Merlin started to question whether keeping his secret from her was a bad thing at all. _**Of course it is, you clotpole. She's Uther's ward,**_ _**one mention of magic and my head would no longer be intact with my body. **_He felt his body shiver at the thought, he rather liked his head. "We best go help Arthur; no doubt people are going to be asking questions." Morgana finally spoke; her voice was less gruff and hoarse that time. Merlin inhaled and nodded, but pointed behind him.

"I can't leave him," he confessed, pointing to the building Will had entered. He hated seeing any of his friends upset or unhappy, so he couldn't just leave Will. He at least owed him a reason to why he backed up Arthur and not him. "I'll see you later." And with that Merlin turned and walked purposefully toward the barn, already planning what he was to say before he entered the room. Just before he reached the door he heard footsteps follow his own.

"What you really think I was going to make you go alone," Morgana answered his question before he even asked it, opening the door for him. He licked his lips and briefly gave her an appreciative smile.

When they entered the building it appeared empty. No candles were lit and the place looked deserted, he had never seen Will's house so vacant. Morgana frowned as she viewed Will's home and compared to her own. Was this really how Merlin lived before he became Arthur's servant? A scraping noise was heard from the corner of the room, Morgana's peeked round the corner only to find Will sharpening a sword. Merlin sighed as he watched his friend, and then knocked onto the wood next to him, so as he knew of their presence. Will glanced up; noticing both Merlin and Morgana's concerned expressions.

"He knows what he's doing," Merlin assured as he fell back onto the stack of hay beside Will. Will continued to sharpen his sword, not replying. "You've got to trust him. Look, when I first met Arthur, I was exactly like you. I hated him. I thought he was pompous and arrogant," he confessed, earning a knowing grin from his friend. "And you can trust Morgana too," he added. Will looked up to Morgana with an indecisive look, not quite sure what to make of her. He nodded his head,

"Morgana I trust, however Arthur I d-" Will was about to argue the reasons why Arthur didn't deserve his trust. He's a royal, which was reason enough.

"But, in time, I came to respect him for what he stands for, what he does." Merlin spoke rapidly, interrupting Will from saying something he knew he would regret in front of Morgana.

"Yeah, I know what he stands for: princes, kings, all men like him. Merlin, you're just his servant."

"He's also his friend," Morgana added, her voice honeyed as she looked down at Will with an innocent smile. However Will still shook his head, Arthur didn't treat him like a friend. More like a slave, ordered him to do anything he told him to do with no thanks in return. Yeah, a good friend.

"Really? Well, let's wait until the fighting begins and see who he sends in to die first. I guarantee you, it won't be him." He argued; his tone gruff and eyebrow's knit together in frustration.

"I trust Arthur with my life," Merlin replied, which just angered Will even more. He rose from the haystack, throwing the sword aside.

"Is that so? So he knows your secret, then?!" He questioned frustrated, completely forgetting that Morgana was also in the room. She frowned, _**secret?**_ "Look, face it, Merlin. You're living a lie. Just like you were here. You're Arthur's servant, nothing more. Otherwise you'd tell him the truth." With each word Will had managed to close in on Merlin, not in a violent way, but to get his point across. It was him and him alone that would understand Merlin, have his trust completely, not some overconfident Prince. "I bet you haven't told Morgana either, have you? Or Gwen." Merlin didn't respond. No, he hadn't told anybody else, they wouldn't understand, they had lived in a castle full of harsh laws against magic, to feel disgusted even by the name of it. And though magic wasn't liked in Ealdor either, it was certainly not as frowned upon as much. Merlin's non response only made Will laugh out loud. Incredible. Merlin had the nerve to tell him to trust them, yet he wouldn't tell them of his secret.

Morgana pinched at her nose, Merlin _had_ been keeping a secret from her, and she was sick of being lied to. It was time for Merlin to confess whatever he was keeping hidden.

\\Merlin/

* * *

**HUZAHH! 47 alerts?! Guys, that's amazing! Thank you SO much, and the reviews are lovely to read as well. Thank you so much, I can't even express my happiness. So I know this chapter is a little different compared to the episode, but I'm not sorry. It's AU, I have to change some stuff, right? Which means if you find anything confusing at all then be sure to just say so, hehe. **

**And ahhhh. What do you think of the ending? You like it or… ?**


	9. We need to talk

_**"I bet you haven't told Morgana either, have you? Or Gwen."**_

Merlin's eyes widened as the words left Will's mouth. Had he really just said that with _Morgana_ in the room? Merlin's stomach turned, he could physically feel Morgana's questioning eyes penetrate him from behind. His emotions conflicted, battling with each other, leaving him tongue tied; he didn't how to respond, or even how to feel. How should he have felt? Angry, nervous… _Relieved_… A part of him felt like he should be angry, _absolutely __**vivid**_, toward Will for even speaking of his secret. His best friend had just called him a living lie, Merlin's stomach twisted, that comment stung, as if he were jabbed in the stomach over and over. Yet the other perplexing emotions seemed to fight their way into his mind too, not just the anger toward Will but the contrasting emotions of _fear _and_ relief _of Morgana knowing of his powers. The mixing emotions were too much for him to deal with in a short period of time, causing him to feel a bit light headed and pinching at his brow. He couldn't talk; even the sound of Will's erratic breathing was causing him discomfort, not knowing his own. Instead, he concentrated on breathing more calmly, allowing the silence of the room to continue and for everyone to take a seconds to just _breath_.

As he begun to exhale and inhale slowly, he watched as the realisation hit Will like a tonne of bricks. Merlin's jaw clenched as Will took a step back in defeat, his face appalled at how easily he almost revealed Merlin's secret. Feeling angry at the fact he allowed for his emotions to take the better of him. How could he have betrayed Merlin so easily?

Merlin finally shook his head as he swiftly walked out of Will's home with his head held low and his shoulders tense. Morgana watched him with a frown; did he really think he could walk away from that? As much as she loved Merlin as a friend, she didn't like to be lied to. So she instantly followed his footsteps, glaring at Will as she past him, letting him know he had caused this.

Once she had left the house the roaring sound of heavy rain was clearly distinct. The tirade of the sky's rain droplets fell forcefully, soaking everything. Morgana had to blink to get used the sudden change of weather, she didn't even realise it was raining until just- she must have been too preoccupied inside the house to have noticed.

Her thoughts trailed back to Merlin, the manservant who was apparently keeping secrets from her. She searched around the village; the rain had created a thick mist around the town, making it hard for her to see where Merlin had disappeared to. She crossed her arms, the cold temperature making her shiver, and then frowned. He was nowhere to be seen. She placed her hand over her eyes in hope she would see clearer. And then that's when she saw him, higher up the village, sitting on a fence with his shoulder placed on his knees, not caring if the rain was soaking him through.

She subconsciously bit into her gum as she strode toward him, inspecting him closely. She noticed his clothes had clung to his skin showing off his slimmer frame, his body may not have been as defined as the knights but it was still defined with _some_ muscle. She stood next to him observably, awaiting some sort of response. If he regarded she was there then he showed no sign of knowing so, as he kept his head down low while he watched rain droplets fall into the puddle below his feet. His avoidance didn't stop Morgana however. It didn't stop her from sitting next to him on the fence so as they were only a few inches apart. Quite the contrary, she wanted answers, Will had made it perfectly clear that he was keeping secrets from them all, and she was very keen to find out what.

She sighed,

"Merlin," she began, her head turning toward him. It had sounded more stern in her mind, but then she realised she could never be angry with Merlin, not really. He just had that sort of effect, like a young puppy with those innocent puppy eyes. She realised her voice had spoken in a soft manner, proving she wasn't upset with the manservant, which she wasn't, okay maybe a _tiny_ bit distrustful, but above all she was anxious. She watched as he bit into his lower lip and looked toward her. "Care to explain what Will was talking about?" Her expression was calm, her eyes wondering, as she waited for Merlin to respond. He didn't respond automatically, instead he continued to observe her, watched as the rain fell on to her hair making it look almost angelic. Merlin felt constricted. He had the chance to tell someone of his magic, to be able to revel in the feel of not being lonely, to be able to talk to somebody about his powers and not feel so isolated. _**Should I take it? Tell her of my power.**_His face frowned ashe remembered Gaius' and The Great Dragons warnings, for him to tell nobody- under _any_ circumstances. But he found it hard for him to consider and act upon their words; they weren't the ones who had to lie to everybody. Have to go through every day knowing that Arthur, Gwen, Morgana and many of his other friends, did not know of his true abilities. He licked his lips,

"Morgana I-" He started, his voice was croaky, like he hadn't drank water in days, Morgana's eyes widened just that tiny bit as he held onto her hand, yet the moment was broken, over in seconds, as he was interrupted by a woman shouting to their left.

"Good heavens!" They heard the woman exclaim. Both Morgana and Merlin turned at the same time, the woman in question was Hunith, who was stood outside an open door, looking at them both frighteningly. "Get inside the both of you, Lord knows how you can stand this cold," she shouted over to them, pointing into the house she was stood by. Merlin's home. Merlin turned back to Morgana, who was still waiting for him to finish off his sentence. He tightened his onto her hands, **-**_**when did I grab her hand**_**?-** as he leaned in closer, whispering into her ear. "I'll tell you once we're inside. My mother's right, we could catch our deaths out here, and you're already pale." She studied him at first, looking into his eyes to see any sign of dishonesty, but found none; he was telling her the truth. She nodded slightly as if to say '_okay'_ and they both jumped off the gate and ran toward the open door side by side as the rain continued to pour.

_**\\Merlin/**_

Merlin and Morgana were sat opposite each other both, wrapped in blankets, as Merlin had managed to collect some from his old bedroom. Beside them was a fire that Hunith had started before they entered the room, apparently they hadn't missed much when they disappeared into Will's home, everybody had left Arthur's speech with high hopes and positive attitudes- something Merlin smiled at.

Hunith sat herself down next to the both of them, a blanket cosily wrapped around herself also. Merlin continuously glanced toward Morgana, giving her an apologetic expression; he couldn't talk with her when his mother was still apparent and Hunith didn't look like she was moving any time soon. However, he underestimated his mother's skill, it didn't take Hunith long to leave them alone, she more so noticed the lack of conversation between the two young adults and thought it best if she left them alone to talk. Call it mother's intuition.

"I'll make some warm soup for the both of you, how's about that?" Hunith offered with a pleasant smile, she lifted up from the floor and made her way to the kitchen, and though the living room and the kitchen were not far apart, it still had given Merlin and Morgana the privacy they needed.

Morgana made sure to give Hunith an appreciative smile,

"Thank you, Hunith." The woman laughed softly as she moved to the back of the room and collected the food needed for the soup.

"Not a problem, if you have any problems then just ask me or Merlin, we'll be sure to help." Morgana nodded at the information and then loosened herself from her blanket slightly. The lovely warmth of the fire was enough to keep her nice and cosy.

Once he's mother was out of their hearing range, Merlin stared at Morgana.

"Morgana," he whispered, grabbing her attention. "You know you can trust me Morgana. I would never do anything to harm you, Arthur or Gwen." He confessed, smiling inwardly as he watched her look at him bewildered causing his stomach to flutter. _**C'mon Merlin, pull yourself together, you can do this. **_He took a deep breath and surveyed Morgana, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of excitement. **_Maybe she was always meant to know of my magic,_**he thought to himself hopeful. Afterall, _she_ was magic, _he_ was magic, and they had both so easily helped the druid boy escape from Camelot.

"Earlier, when you and Arthur rode ahead to fight off Kanen and his men," her voice was a mere murmur as she shifted forward slightly near him, her face was mystified as she tried to remember the scene, "it was magic, wasn't it?" Merlin licked his lips and hesitantly nodded his head, he was trying to figure out her responses, how she took the subject of magic. She seemed to be taking it okay so far, leaving Merlin hopeful for how she would take the larger, more important information.

"Yes, it was magic," he replied as he watched her response, her brow creased. _**Oh no.**_ Merlin's throat become dry, why was she frowning, did she disprove of magic? Merlin gulped, "W-What's wrong?"

Morgana hesitated to answer at first; instead she concentrated on twiddling her thumbs and revelling in the soft feel of the blanket. Then Merlin felt like face palming himself, _**of course**_, perhaps she thought it was her who conjured the spell, after all she _did_ have magic. Merlin budged over toward Morgana so as his shoulder was touching hers, in all honesty, he wasn't sure whether it was his or her magic that conjured the spell, but at this moment in time Merlin thought it would be best to admit his magic first. _**One trouble at a time**_. Morgana seemed to question his movements, her brow creasing as he sat next to her. What was he doing, why was he moving closer to her? Then she watched as Merlin stretched to see if his mother was anywhere in sight, once he was sure she wasn't he gave Morgana one last look. Morgana couldn't help but feel absorbed in his actions as he gave her one last nod, more so to himself, and closed his eyes.

_**It's now or never, **_he thought to himself as he brought his hand to his face and whispered,

"_Forbearnan._" His voice was spoken softly as he opened his eyes. Morgana's mouth was left agape at the scene, she watched as his eyes flashed a beautiful gold that mesmerized her very soul. _**Merlin… Had magic! **_Realising she must have gasped out loud, she closed her mouth again. Merlin looked toward her with a shy smile, but Morgana was too invested at the floating fire ball he was holding in his hand to notice. Morgana pointed at his hand and then looked to Merlin and then back to his hand. Merlin, even though he was smiling – he had done it, finally revealed his magic to somebody he cared about- he was still cautious. She hadn't said anything. Sure she might have gasped and looked toward the fireball approvingly, but that still didn't really confirm her opinion on his magic.

"You, yo-" Morgana couldn't come to her senses. _**Merlin. Out of **_**every**_** boy in Camelot, Merlin- Arthur's man servant, was a sorcerer.**_ She just couldn't believe it.

"Have magic?" He finished off her sentence, though still not sure if that _was_ what she was going to say. He ducked his head inwardly and scratched at his cheek, he wasn't used to so much attention, or being looked at as if he were a grand prize. Morgana laughed lightly at his response and nodded. Then her brow creased, as many questions whizzed through her head.

"But ho-"

"_Ahhhhh_," they heard someone exclaim as they entered the house. At the rude interruption Morgana noticed Merlin had closed his palm, the flame in his hands gone in an instant. She was so intrigued, she wanted to know more. Merlin looked up and saw Arthur stretching next to the front door, Gwen awkwardly behind him. Hunith had turned around at the sound of someone entering her home and smiled,

"Oh, lovely. Everybody's here then," she exclaimed as she placed four bowls, filled with red soup, onto the main table. "Supper's ready." Merlin nudged Morgana and stood up, offering her a hand. She smiled at him as she took his offer and stood up, but Merlin knew the smile was more than just the little offer- it was a lot more than that. She was happy that he had confessed his secret to her. Merlin knew it was obvious she didn't approve of having supper right at that moment, she must have wanted to ask Merlin thousands of questions, yet they couldn't raise any suspicion of her knowing of his magic so they had to continue as if nothing happened. Morgana acknowledged that Merlin wasn't going to continue talking about magic now that Arthur and Gwen were in the room, so she joined him as they both sat onto the table. Merlin was sat next to Arthur and Morgana next to Gwen, even though Gwen had argued with Hunith to help prepare the food and cutlery, Hunith dismissed her offer and let her eat her supper in peace.

**\\Merlin/**

Supper was… _Eventful_. Hunith had made Merlin's favourite supper, tomato soap, and he quickly ate the meal within seconds. However, Arthur had sat on his chair prodding his meal with his spoon for over half an hour, but to be respectful toward Hunith he would always be seen eating the meal when she turned to the table, yet when she turned back around he would grimace. Merlin more than openly suggested he take his left overs and Merlin would find him something else later- much to Gwen and Morgana's annoyance. They were in someone else's home, he should appreciate the food he was given.

Besides the meal itself, supper was conversational. Arthur had talked about how much of a clotpole- yes; he was now picking up on the word- Merlin was when he stood in front of everybody in the crowd. Which left Morgana to scoff loudly as she raised her eyebrow at Arthur. Merlin looked no much of a fool than he did, and she told him that, which led to a full on debate, leaving Gwen and Merlin in fits of laughter. It was funny when Morgana and Arthur bickered; they were just as bad as Merlin and Arthur, though it was different. Morgana and Arthur would bicker until one of them knew they had won the argument, whereas Arthur and Merlin's banter was just.. Playful banter? Still, even with the arguing going on, Merlin noticed how Morgana would slip a quick glance his way, giving him an _'we need to talk'_ type expression. Speaking of which, Merlin had to yet become sane at the fact _he had just revealed his magic to Morgana_. The King's Ward. His heart fluttered at the memory. It was obvious Morgana was delighted with the news, which made him even happier. _Ecstatic_ in fact. He was so scared Morgana would become afraid of him, or just disprove of him. But she wasn't, she was just as overjoyed as he was.

It wasn't long until everybody had finished their meals. Arthur decided it was time to hit the sack for all of them; '_it was to be a busy day tomorrow' - _noble words by the Prince himself. So Merlin more than naturally collected the blankets and pillows for everybody's beds. Obviously he had to give the softer pillows to Arthur, but he made sure to give Gwen and Morgana comfortable ones also.

Just before Merlin was to go and retrieve even more blankets and pillows for himself, he was pulled back. He flinched and his shoulder cowered though he soon relaxed when he saw the familiar raven coloured hair- much similar to his own.

"We need to talk," Morgana insisted quietly, making sure no one was close enough to hear. Merlin nodded, agreeing,

"How about tonight, when everyone's asleep?" He offered, looking to her for confirmation as he bent over to collect the pillow from his bed. He saw her nod along with a smile before she swiftly made her way to the back room- where her and Gwen's bed lay- to make it easier for them not to be caught. If they were frequently caught talking to each other alone she knew Arthur, or even Gwen, would start questioning things. He smiled at the thought of talking to Morgana about his magic, he was actually excited, he shook the giddy feeling away and ambled his way into the living room where him and Arthur had decided to camp out for the night.

**\\Merlin/**

Not long after Arthur had fallen asleep, Merlin quietly unravelled himself from his blanket and crept into the room Gwen and Morgana were sleeping in. Strangely, he had expected Morgana to be waiting expectedly in their room waiting for him, yet when he had quietly entered the room he recognised that Morgana had actually fallen asleep. Her eyelids were closed against the dim light of the candles and her breathing was deep and relaxed. She almost looked at peace; all the muscles on her face and body were completely relaxed, Merlin found it almost impossible to imagine this peaceful scene ruined by a vicious nightmare.

After finally taking his eyes off of the sleeping beauty, Merlin scratched at his head awkwardly, was he expected to wake her up? Or should he have allowed her some valuable sleep and talk in the morning? He decided with the latter and tiptoed his way to the exit.

"Merlin," he heard a whisper from behind. He turned slowly and saw than Morgana was now leaning up and looking at him with an enthusiastic grin. He gave her a shy wave and then pointed to the back door toward the end of the room.

'_Meet me out there_,' he mimed to her as he made his way over to the door, nearly slipping over in the process. Morgana rolled her eyes at him flippantly; he always was a clumsy person.

Merlin waited patiently outside as he leant onto the wall of his house, viewing the sky above him. Fascinatingly, the sky was covered with many shining stars that sparkled beautifully in contrast to the dark blue. Merlin couldn't help but admire their beauty; it was like he had covered the sky with his navy coloured blanket which magically glittered in all the right places.

"Ooh," he heard a breathy gasp from behind, he didn't have to turn to know Morgana had also observed the sparkling night sky. "It's beautiful," she expressed as she slowly closed the door behind her. Merlin hummed in response, he couldn't argue with that. He then heard Morgana shuffling something in her hands and glanced to see she had brought two blankets along with her, she offered him one before she moved to sit along the stone wall that was in front of them. "So, Merlin…" She breathed out as she wrapped one leg over the other, getting into a comfortable position as Merlin stayed put next to the wall. He smiled, awaiting all the questions he expected she had kept in her mind since his reveal. "How long have you had magic?" Her first question was said in the most relaxed and chilled way that Merlin almost felt like it was natural to talk to her about his magic, he smiled softly,

"I was born with it," he confessed, acknowledging her confused expression, "I'm different to other sorcerers, my magic is more so…" He tried to find the right word to explain it, "_instinctive_. I started using magic when I was little without even knowing so…" He laughed at that, which sent shivers down Morgana's spine. **_No, it's the cold, definitely the cold._** "My mother would walk into a room and see books flying around the place; it gave her quite the shock at first, but she came to recognise my powers, and realised that I wasn't your ordinary boy."

Morgana listened to each word intently, her eyes seeking him out and trying to understand his powers. She didn't ask any more questions, so Merlin decided to continue with his story,

"When I was a little older my mother knew that someone like me wasn't meant for a simple town like Ealdor," he confessed, though his voice showed a hint of sadness. "She sent me to Gaius, said he would be my advisor and would take better care for me than would she could have provided." Morgana's eyebrow rose confusingly and Merlin understood why she was confused, "my mother always appreciated my power, let me practise it sometimes in the house, but she couldn't show me how to fully use it- it confused her as much as me- so when she remembered Gaius back in Camelot she sent me to him."

"But why Gaius?" Morgana asked.

"Gaius has been around for a long time, even before the purge," he admitted coolly, "he even dabbled with a bit of magic himself back in those days." Morgana's mouth flew open, **_Gaius used to be a sorcerer?_**

"So, he's like your mentor?"

"I suppose you could say that," he laughed, shaking his head as he looked down at the floor. "Though," he interjected, his voice had become a bit sterner as he looked toward her seriously. "Morgana, you cannot tell anyone of my powers, not even Arthur or Gwen. They're not ready, I-"

"I understand," she complied, grabbing for his hand reassuringly. "Camelot is a dangerous place for one with magic. I can understand why you didn't want to tell anybody." She was being honest with Merlin, she sometimes thought that she might have the gift of magic too- though she sometimes thought it was just her nightmares getting to her- but still, the thought of even possessing magic terrified her. Camelot was a land whose King hated anything to do with magic, killed innocent people just because they were born with a talent they couldn't control.

"Thank you," she heard Merlin reply, his voice genuinely thankful. She nodded in reply, her expression set as she considered just how much he appreciated her understanding.

"So tell me, all those times Arthur has just miraculously been saved... That was you? All that time?" She asked with astonishment. She had to hand it to Merlin, he was treated like a clotpole, day in day out, when really, he was the true knight in shining armour.

"Ermm, something like that," he laughed lightly. "I try to help anyone in danger as much as I can and that ass just seems to be constantly in trouble so..." He thought about telling her of his destiny and what him saving Arthur truly meant. But, today had already been a lot for Morgana, he could tell her of his destiny another day.

"And yet you get no thanks in return," she realised, looking at him with a admirable expression.

"I don't expect thanks, Morgana." He replied honestly, his voice soothing in the cold night. "I just hope that one day, if I do reveal myself to Arthur, that he will remember all the things I did for him, and not think of me as a liar." Morgana blinked at that and licked her lips,

"Arthur may be an arrogant..." She tried to think of a suitable word,

"Clotpole."

"Thank you," she said with a smile and then sighed. "But I don't think Arthur would think of you as a liar. Look at him now, helping you defend your home. I've grown up with Arthur all my life and I've never seen him do something as kind as this for someone," she admitted. "You're special Merlin." The words effected Merlin, he had never been so praised before. After a moments silence Merlin leaned off the wall with a smile and headed for the door,

"I can talk to you some more back in Camelot if you like, once we've helped my mother and my friends."

"Of course," she expressed happily. "Gwen normally finishes her shift so you can come talk to me then." Merlin smiled.

"It's getting late now; I think we should turn in." He then suggested as he grasped the door handle.

"Wait," Morgana rushed just as he was about to open the door. He turned around and inspected her with an awaiting expression. "Just one question," her tone was merely a whisper, so she coughed and cleared her throat. "If Will wouldn't have mentioned your secret before, would you have still told me?"

Merlin pondered the question, _would he have_?

"You have a good heart Morgana, and that's your greatest strength," he admitted openly. "I think, after some time that, yes, I would have told you of my magic, maybe not as soon as now… But yes. You understand magic more than Gwen and Arthur; you've defended people who possess magic before and stood up for them, even against Uther's warnings."

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it," she regarded, making Merlin do that goofy smile of his. "Uther's so full of hatred toward magic that he hasn't had the time to understand it like I have." She confessed confidently, with a slight smile, her eyebrow rose. "And sometimes you have to-"

"_Damn the consequences_," he finished for her. He never thought he'd understand that quote, but now, after revealing himself to Morgana, he agreed. Sometimes you _do_ have to damn the consequences. He heard Morgana laugh lightly,

"Good night, Merlin."

"Good night, Morgana."**  
**

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**Oh man. Ahhh. I'm so nervous about the feedback for this chapter. Cause you know. **_**It's the one**_**.. I know not everything has been explained regarding how much Morgana still know of his powers.. But keep calm, there's plenty more chapter to go, hehe.. And I'm sorry this wasn't up yesterday, but I have to admit that I was a bit distracted by watching the new episode of The Walking Dead. Sorry. Hehe. **


	10. Give him more credit than that

Merlin's eyes fluttered open. The rising sun shone through his open window, casting sunbeams in every direction, illuminating his small bedroom. He yawned softly; stretching his arms and legs before he lifted himself from his bed and searched around his room. There was a cold chill in the air making him shiver and rub at his arms; he had forgotten to shut the window the night before. He sighed, if only the window wasn't directly underneath Prince Clotpole he could have shut it with ease and be nice and cosy.

As he quietly tip toed toward the window, Merlin had to hold in his laughter. The position Arthur had slept in was hilarious, his blanket had wrapped around him tightly while his hands had clenched together like a scared child- Merlin knew it was due to him being cold, but still, he found it hilarious. His laughter soon died down when a small gust of wind made him unpleasantly shiver once more. He frowned, the window was just taunting him now; he stopping laughing at the sleeping Prince and attempted to reach the handle on the open window, which was a lot further than anticipated- might he add. He stretched out his arm as far as he physically could, all the while sticking his tongue out in concentration; _**I'm being beaten by a **_**window**_**.**_

"_Just… A bit… Further_…" His arms couldn't extend any further, anymore and he'd find himself with a dislocated shoulder. As he gradually crept up onto his tiptoes his socks slipped on the floor, making him fall on top of Arthur with some force.

The Prince rose up quickly, his eyes wide. He searched the room with a startled expression only to see the familiar, irritating sheepish smile of his manservant. His face scrunched up, _why was Merlin in his bed?_

"_Merlin_!" Arthur exclaimed, his voice agitated and aggravated as he shoved him off. Merlin noticed the stunned and disturbed expression he wore- _**well, that's not very good**_. Merlin's eyebrows scrunched together as he stood back up from the floor, _why were his feet not capable of not tripping over? _He shook his head and waved his hands hurriedly at Arthur,

"Sire, I was just trying to open the window, I didn't mean to-"

"_You __**fell**__ on top of me_," Arthur interjected, looking at him in shocked disbelief. He thought he could tolerate Merlin's lack of coordination, but _this_! He was asleep, not even _moving_ and yet the idiot of a servant managed to fall on top of him. Arthur shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. He couldn't deal with this, especially at the crack of dawn. "Just…" He was lost for words; he sighed and looked back up toward Merlin. "Just get my clothes ready. The people need to be training today and I won't be able to do that if I have no clothes, will I?" And with that he stormed out the room with just his trousers on, shaking his head and muttering to himself, no doubt muttering about how much of a clotpole Merlin was.

Merlin scratched at his head sheepishly after the Prince left the room. He knew he was going to get a royal beating for that one- _**probably double amount of chores for the next few weeks**_. He sighed unhappily as he made Arthur's bed and cleaned the room. You'd think for someone who was the royal Prince of Camelot that they should be able to clean up after themselves. Merlin nearly openly laughed at that. _**Arthur, clean up after himself. **_

After half an hour of tiredly cleaning Arthur's mess, Merlin placed his noble clothes onto _'Arthur's'_ bed and swiftly moved for the kitchen. He was starving. He didn't have the time to get any breakfast as he was so engrossed in making his room tidy and setting out Arthur's clothes. He literally ran to the door, _**this starvation will kill me.**_

"C'mon then Merlin, time to put the only skill of yours to good use," Arthur proposed as he entered the room, blocking Merlin's way to the kitchen. Merlin grimaced; he could smell the morning soup his mother had prepared for him, making his mouth water. He disregarded Arthur, attempting to push past him and lead himself to the much awaited delicious food. Arthur blinked at his unexpected impoliteness. "_Merlin_," Arthur said again, that time his voice louder and a lot more conveyed. Merlin blinked at his name, _**what? Who's calling me? **_He turned back around and noticed Arthur's raised eyebrow and awaiting expression. "Nice of you to join me, Merlin," Arthur announced sardonically as he walked toward him, placing his arms around his shoulders tightly. Merlin looked at him questioningly. "Now, help me put on my clothes."

Merlin's mouth opened,

"But, I haven't eaten any food," he reasoned, pointing toward the door. And exactly at that moment his stomach growled loudly, proving his point. Merlin pointed to his stomach with wide eyes, giving him the _'see?'_ expression. Arthur shook his head and smacked his shoulder rather hard in a mocking fashion, then turned his head to give Merlin a sardonic grin.

"Well then, _Merlin_, once you've finished doing my clothes then perhaps you can eat your food," he suggested in that unique, arrogant clotpole way that annoyed Merlin to no end. The word _**payback**_ had literally dripped from his words and Merlin knew Arthur was assertive in his suggestion. Merlin sighed and retrieved the navy coloured shirt that was for his chest.

_**Looks like breakfast won't be till a while. **_

_**\\Merlin/**_

After the main parts of Arthur's clothes were fastened and ready, Merlin reached for Arthur's jacket to complete his attire, concurrently Morgana had strolled through the door, looking preoccupied as she adjusted the fastening on her metal vambrace. Merlin literally heard Arthur roll his eyes as he helped him fit his arms through the jacket hole. They were so much like siblings it was unbelievable.

"You still not learned how to dress yourself?" Morgana commented, her tone voice mocking and teasing. Merlin supressed a laugh as he briefly fastened Arthur's jacket buttons. Arthur frowned and leant onto his left side.

"You don't have a dog and fetch the stick yourself," he answered honestly, nodding toward Merlin as he pulled at his jacket to make it more comfortable. "No offense, Merlin." He added a bit quieter, earning a nod from Merlin.

"None taken," he replied as he bent down to collect Arthur's boot, giving Morgana a friendly smirk. Hunith then came into the room; a bowl in her hand as she rushed to Arthur- her hair was astray and she looked tired- having four young adults in the house wasn't an easy job.

"Prince Arthur, you didn't finish your breakfast," she acknowledged, offering him the bowl with a sweet smile. Arthur coughed inwardly and grimaced unnoticed to Hunith,

"Didn't I?" He said, faking a surprised tone. He took it gladly and watched as Hunith left the room. He inspected the food in the bowl, watching the thick liquid drop from his spoon. Morgana stepped up to him and grabbed the spoon to shove it in his mouth- much to his distaste.

"Come on, eat up." Morgana encouraged with a cynical smirk and raised eyebrow. She beamed at Merlin, knowing he appreciated that. Morgana knew well enough that Arthur mocking his mother's food did hurt him a little- after all, his mother worked hard on making it. So she did what she did best, embarrassed Arthur. Who, of course, grimaced and slowly ate the mouthful Morgana had shoved in his mouth. Merlin noticed how his expression soon changed when Gwen walked into the room.

"Mmmmm," he expressed, placing the bowl down and giving Merlin a death glare. Merlin stared at him in disbelief, _**it isn't my fault. **_Gwen must have guessed how much he disliked the food and retrieved it from the table Arthur placed it on. Arthur blinked and breathed out heavily, trying to distract himself from the awful taste of… Whatever was in the bowl.

"Right. Let's get going," Arthur announced, clapping his hands together. "We need wood, and lots of it." Morgana nodded and followed him out of the house, leaving Gwen and Merlin alone in the room.

"Of course," Merlin commented quietly as he ambled himself around his room to collect his own jacket. Gwen, who was eating Arthur's untouched meal, watched Merlin with a smile. She turned around when she heard Hunith enter the room again. Gwen swallowed the last mouthful quickly, licked her lips and passed the empty bowl to Hunith,

"Arthur said it was lovely," she lied with a convincing smile, not wanting to hurt Hunith's feelings. She then followed Arthur and Morgana outside to help collect the wood, not wanting to keep a fake smile on for Hunith's sake, she shouldn't have had to lie to a poor woman like Hunith for the sake of an arrogant prince.

Hunith beamed as she watched Gwen leave and placed the bowl aside. She noticed Merlin struggle to put his jacket on and helped him with a heart-warming smile.

"Thanks," he said, offering her a smile back. She nodded her head and moved to collect the bowl again, she watched her son as he rushed about.

"He must care for you a great deal," she confided as she looked at the empty bowl. Merlin shook his head and made his way to the door,

"Arthur'd do the same for any village. That's just the way he is," he admitted, a hint of proudness in his tone. As much of an arrogant ass he could be sometimes, he did have heart.

"It's more than that. He's here for _you_," Hunith's voice was honeyed and affectionate, her lips curving into an appreciative smile.

"I'm just his servant." Merlin dismissed, fiddling with the button on his jacket, while he stood near the door ready to leave.

"Give him more credit than that," she expressed, moving toward him and clamping her hand onto his cheeks. "He likes you."

"That's because he doesn't know me," he admitted, his eyes showing a hint of sadness as he held onto his mother's hands firmly. "And if he did, I'd probably be dead by now," he confirmed watching his mother's smile slowly disappear. She blinked and stared at her son,

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Her voice sounded heart broken, looking at her son with a look of disbelief. How could he doubt himself and the people he trusted so much?

She watched as his expression stayed set, as if he were searching for the right answer, or perhaps wondering whether or not he _would_ be dead. Merlin frowned, confused as to what the right answer was himself. He remembered revealing himself to Morgana; she wasn't frightened or angry, if anything, she was thrilled. But that didn't mean Arthur would have reacted in the same way? He looked back at his mother; she was watching him with a troubled expression. He didn't know _how_ to respond. Morgana and Arthur were quite different in terms of following Uther's footsteps. Morgana wasn't afraid to speak her mind; she contradicted and disagreed of Uther's ways, whereas Arthur did follow in Uther's footsteps. Sure, he helped Mordred escape Camelot, but he still needed a bit of encouragement and persuasion.

Hunith stroked at Merlin's cheek softly with her thumb, acknowledging his struggle to answer her question. "And what of Guinevere and Morgana, would _they_ want you dead?" She suggested in hope to lift his confidence. Merlin blinked, the corners of his mouth tuned as he thought about his mother's words. Morgana wouldn't want him dead and Gwen was a good hearted person, perhaps she would see reason and accept his powers to. Hunith grinned and lightly tapped his cheek. "Merlin, you are an extraordinary boy and so are your friends. I'm sure, given the right time, they would come to love you just as much as now, even if they knew of your powers," she addressed him proudly and confidently, giving her son a proud smile. He gave her an assertive nod and hugged her.

"Thank you," he whispered before releasing her and leaving the house.

_**\\Merlin/**_

Merlin marched toward the woods with a determined look on his face. Arthur had asked him to go to the forest and collect some wood while he showed the villagers some of his skills. So Merlin did as was told. When he reached the entering of the forest he picked out the weakest tree he could find, as he knew that would be the easiest to chop down.

"Merlin," he heard someone call from behind. He turned with an expectant gaze and noticed it was Will; he licked his lips and nodded at him. Will huffed as he jogged up to him, "Where are you going with that thing?" Will asked, pointing at the axe in Merlin's hand with a raised eyebrow. Merlin realised Will was trying to be nice, after all he did sort of spill his secret to Morgana, even if it was by accident.

"What does it look like? We need wood," Merlin informed, turning around and smiling as he noticed a tree that he considered was quite weak.

"We both know that you don't need an axe to fell a tree," Will confessed as he walked beside him.

"And so does Morgana," Merlin admitted with a sigh, he noticed Will's shocked expression and decided to sit down on a log. He can cut the tree later.

"You- You told her?" Will asked as he joined him on the log. Will knew that he had left Morgana to ask questions, but he never would have guessed that Merlin would have told her. He guessed that Merlin would have made up an excuse or thought of a quick lie, like he normally did. But to actually _tell_ her his secret, it left Will's mouth agape.

"I couldn't lie to her Will," Merlin admitted, as he looked down at the floor. Will watched him intensely, noticing his nervousness because of having to talk about magic. "I think she knew already," he added, then turned to look at Will, "I don't blame you, for nearly revealing my magic. You were angry I und-"

Will shook his head; he didn't want to listen to Merlin reassuring his actions. Will knew he did wrong, he didn't want his best friend admitting he wasn't just so as he would be happy.

"No, Merlin, that's no excuse. You trusted me with you magic, and I let you down." Will sighed and his brow creased. Merlin didn't speak or respond to his confession; instead he looked out of the forest, viewed the grassland and the village. He could just about see Arthur, Gwen and Morgana in the distance. Arthur was helping the villagers how to hold a weapon while Gwen and Morgana helped Hunith place wood in the ground for target practise. "How did she take it?" Will asked, his expression set as he waited for Merlin's response. He then blinked when he noticed the content smile that crept up his friends face.

"She umm.." Merlin started, trying to think of how to explain her reaction. He was a tad bit distracted when he looked up and saw Morgana specifically in the distance, he coughed inwardly. "She took it quite well actually," he admitted, and then laughed lightly making Will's eyebrows rise.

"So she's not angry?" Will's brow then creased and Merlin shook his head,

"I know my secrets safe, she not how you think Will," he then moved on the log so as he could look at Will more politely while he spoke. "There was this Druid boy, in Camelot, who was being searched and hunted down for having magic. He was only young, I couldn't leave him Will. You should have seen him." Will listened closely to Merlin, trying to see where the story was going. Merlin licked his lips and continued, "so I helped him, hid him from the guards, but there were loads of them and I thought I wouldn't be able to hide him."

"But where does Morgana come in to all of this?" Will asked, confused.

"She helped me hide him. She hid him in her room for a week, making sure he was properly fed and kept safe, and then, when he was recovered, we helped him out of the castle." Merlin smiled at the memory, they did make quite a good team. "And Arthur helped too." Merlin noticed Will's smile slightly falter, and sighed. "I know you dislike hi-"

"I don't dislike him because he's royalty, if that's what you're thinking Merlin." Will assured him, getting up from the log and taking the axe from Merlin's hand. Merlin frowned but allowed him to have it anyway, "it's just the way he acts." Will confirmed. Merlin also got up from the log and decided to follow Will deeper into the forest, wanting to listen to Will's reasoning. "He thinks he's better than anyone else." Will then stopped and pointed at a large tree that would be good to cut at, Merlin absentmindedly nodded, confirming he could use his axe, though he was still listening to Will fixedly. "I mean, you saw how he treated Hunith's food." Merlin's shoulders lowered. _**Okay, maybe that was arrogant of him. **_Merlin bit into his gum before he looked back at Will puzzled,

"But how did you know he-" Merlin was about to ask how he knew Arthur didn't like Hunith's food, but he was interrupted by Will.

"I didn't," Will replied, making Merlin's expression falter. "See, Merlin. I wasn't even there and I guessed what an arrogant pig he was. He's just that sort of guy." He then raised the axe above his head and slammed it down onto the tree.

"I'm not expecting you to become friends with him, Will. He's only going to be here for a few days, maybe less." Merlin offered, watching as Will raised the axe again and hit the tree with some force.

"Then that's fine." Will said as he continued to chop at the wood, every strike becoming more forceful than the last. Merlin sighed, he could tell Will was still uncomfortable with the situation, but what could he do?

"I didn't want to leave," Merlin stated as he kicked the pebbles below his feet. "My mother was worried. When she found out you knew, she was so angry." Merlin expressed. He never had the chance to properly say good bye to Will, and that upset him just as much as Will.

"I wouldn't have told anyone."

"I know you wouldn't," Merlin acknowledged, nodding his head. Will stopped to watch Merlin look at the floor with a creased brow.

"You'd be able to defeat Kanen on your own, wouldn't you?" Will said as he kicked at the tree, allowing it to topple and fall to the floor. While Will bent over to collect the word Merlin sighed,

"I'm not sure. Maybe," he replied, though he voice wasn't so assertive. He didn't really think about taking Kanen on, that would mean revealing his magic to Arthur.

"Well, so what's stopping you?" Will's voice was low and orotund as he passed the wood to Merlin. "So what if Arthur finds out? Morgana didn't seem too fussed by it."

"I don't expect you to understand."

"Try me."

"Morgana and Arthur are very different. Morgana is more accepting of magic; she protected people with magic back in Camelot, stood up in front of Uther, and helped me with the Druid." Merlin spoke, his voice hardened slightly as he observed Will. "Arthur's different. One day he will be a great king, but he needs my help. Morgana's the only one to know of my power, if anyone else found out I'd have to leave Camelot for good."

"Are you telling me you'd rather keep your magic a secret for Arthur's sake than use it to protect your friends and family?" Will asked, his brow furrowed and his face scrunched up. Will shook his head and pushed the remaining pieces of wood into Merlin's hands before marching off back to the village.

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**I'm so sorry for the late update. Exams and college open days literally took up every day last week. I have some more exams next week, so I should be free this week. Yey. But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The reviews have been amazing, thank you for your encouragement, all of you. Much appreciated. If you have any criticisms then please let me know, I wasn't sure if anybody was too OC in this chapter. **


	11. Depends how you use it

I just like to say in response to 'Alexandria' (whose review was added while not signed in, so I couldn't reply) this fic will have.. Eventually.. Merlin/Morgana, Gwen/Arthur, perhaps Gwen/Lancelot and maybe even a bit of Merlin/Freya_** (yes, I know!) **_

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"They don't stand a chance," Morgana muttered to Gwen as she sharpened yet another sword. They had watched Arthur train the males of the village for the past three hours and still none of them were fully trained enough to take on Kanen's men. Morgana shook her head, she was stuck to sharpen swords when she could have been in on the action too. Getting out, training men and woman or helping the people in need- yet annoyingly Arthur dismissed the idea. He wanted all woman and children to stay in their homes when the bandits attacked, much to Morgana's irritation. She heard Gwen sigh softly beside her,

"I'm sure they'll be fine," she encouraged, though her facial features didn't match her optimistic attitude. Morgana hummed and continued to watch the men train. She saw Gwen shake her head as she got up from the rock they were sat on, Morgana turned to her, wondering where she was going. Gwen smiled slightly, "I'm just going to pass these," she turned to look down at the basket filled with sharpened swords on the floor and picked them up, "to the people that don't already have them." Morgana nodded her head and watched as Gwen walked toward a small group of men with a kind smile on her face, offering them each a sword. Morgana couldn't help but gulp when she noticed a young boy, slightly younger than herself, take a sword from Gwen and stare at it nervously.

"They're going to need all the encouragement they can get," a voice merely whispered in Morgana's ear, making her jump. She turned and noticed it was only Merlin; he was knelt beside her with some of the wood he must have collected before still in his hands. Morgana frowned when she noticed Merlin's apologetic expression- something she wouldn't have noticed beforehand if it wasn't for him being so close to her. She nodded as soon as her heart beat returned to its normal pace- she damned herself for being so easily frightened, it was only Merlin after all.

She didn't respond to him straight away as she continued to watch the men train, watching them stab at the sand bags the women had managed to create for them. Her concentration faltered as she heard Merlin shuffle behind her, she turned back to him to see he had placed the logs he was holding on the floor, so as he could sit beside her. The corner of her lip curved into the beginning of a smirk, Morgana couldn't deny the fact that her and Merlin's relationship had changed since yesterday. **_Since he revealed his secret._** She realised she could appreciate him a lot more. He wasn't just a simple servant that so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all the while. He was a lot more than what met the eye, which only helped Morgana be easily captivated and easily drawn to him- much like a moth to a flame. He was different than anyone else, and Morgana loved it. Morgana licked her lips before she spoke.

"I'll never understand men like Kanen," she admitted, her voice strained at the mention of _his_ name. Merlin bit into his lip and thought over her words, she may have spoken in a whisper but Merlin still noticed the distaste in her assertion. He didn't really know how to respond, because quite frankly, he didn't understand them either. There were some people who just enjoyed watching the world burn and relished in the sight of havoc and devastation. He blinked and lowered his head, watching the reflection of himself in the puddle near them.

"I don't think anybody will, Morgana." Merlin responded. "You just continue life the way it is and hope that you barely come across men like him I suppose," he admitted as he looked up and rubbed his hands together- the weather had become that bit colder. Morgana absorbed his words and agreed, as long as she herself or anyone she loved didn't become one of them, then she would be content. As she continued to watch the men train, a thought came across her mind, she smirked to herself and then patted Merlin's leg.

"C'mon," she encouraged, her voice more upbeat. Merlin's eyebrow rose as he searched her facial expression, whatever it was she was planning to do it seemed to lift her mood. He picked himself up off the rock, remembered to collect the wood from the floor, and followed Morgana to Arthur.

"Looks like the battle's already fought and lost," she said as she proceeded to Arthur who was helping the young boy Morgana saw before know where to stab in order to badly wound. She grimaced when she observed the boy's attempt; he was throwing the sword all over the place. Arthur must have not heard her, either that or he was purposely ignoring her, as he grabbed the boy's sword and prevented him from hurting himself.

"They'll toughen up," he reassured, loud enough for the surrounding people to hear. They seemed to smile at the encouragement and worked even harder on their training. Morgana hummed in response as soon as Merlin stood beside her. They both watched as the young boy was given the sword back and continued to use it like some sort of toy. Morgana shook her head and made her way to the obviously nervous boy, her face assertive as she watched his fighting technique- or if he _had_ one.

"Turn sideways," Morgana suggested with a smile as the boy stabbed at the sandbag. The boy stopped and stared at her quizzically; she raised her eyebrow in return and gave him a reassuring nod. He did as she said and turned to his side, "okay, now. You need to work on your footwork," she added on. She smiled when she noticed Merlin had grabbed a sword for her to use as a demonstration, while Arthur watched with furrowed eyebrows. Morgana put her stronger, most preferred foot, forward and balanced herself with the sword in hand. The boy mimicked her movements and smiled when he noticed Morgana's wide grin. Arthur then decided to give him some pointers of his own; he walked over and raised the boy's chin and his sword,

"You want to be looking up at your opponent, not down," he suggested as he watched the boy nod and lick his lips in determination. Morgana then acknowledged that he no longer needed her help and passed her sword back to Merlin with an appreciative smile. They then both watched as the boy attempted to strike Arthur, his footing may have been misplaced and out of place but Merlin thought he did quite well, to say he was up against a fully skilled Prince who had been trained all his life. The boy had managed to skilfully snip at Arthur's arm and create a hole, allowing him the chance to take him down. However, Arthur was too quick as he easily unarmed him of his sword, making it fall to the floor where he couldn't reach it, and placed his own sword onto the boy's chest. Arthur stood there for a while, watching the boy breathe heavily and gulp, waiting for Arthur to strike at him, though that wasn't his intention. Arthur lowered his sword and patted the boy on the back with a pleased grin.

Merlin and Morgana noticed how everyone in the village had stopped and watched Arthur and the boy, looking at them in admiration and trying to learn their techniques. Arthur too had noticed this and breathed in heavily,

"We can stand up to them," he announced and then pointed to the young boy, "you just have to try. Go help each other, learn and teach each other your skills." All the men then nodded their heads, their enthusiasm boosted, as they began to train again with more eagerness.

As soon as the men and woman preoccupied themselves and stopped crowding around watching Arthur, Morgana stepped forward. She licked her lips as she waited for Arthur to finish speaking with the young boy and then proceeded to speak.

"Men aren't the only ones who can fight," she urged as she moved even closer to Arthur, observing him with a set glare. His first respons was to just blink, slightly baffled. He knew Morgana was very strong willed and cared for others, but the way she had advanced toward him, courage in her step, announcing her suggestion with pride was different. And as much as Arthur agreed with her, he couldn't risk it. He pinched at his nose and turned to the ground, not being able to look at Morgana's profound stare, and sighed.

"How are we doing for weapons?" He asked out loud to anybody, as if considering Morgana's suggestion. Her brow relaxed as she turned to Merlin hopeful, Merlin in response pulled a face.

"Err.. There isn't much, but we should be able to scrape together what you need." Merlin replied before he licked his lips. Morgana watched as Arthur thought about what he should do, Morgana knew it was a thin thread to pull at, Arthur never liked to put people in harm's way, but whether he liked it or not they needed more people. Morgana frowned, knowing Arthur needed more convincing.

"Arthur, you know I'm good with a sword. Let me train a few woman, I'll only train those who want to help," she offered. Merlin nodded, it sounded reasonable. "And besides, you haven't enough men. If they were trained soldiers, maybe you'd stand a chance, but they're not." She waited for Arthur to respond and sighed. He was hopeless. Morgana threw her hands up in the air and turned to Merlin for help, her face aggravated that Arthur wouldn't see reason. Merlin then shrugged his shoulders, _**if Arthur won't listen to Morgana, then he won't listen to me. **_But then decided it was worth a try and stepped forward to Arthur.

"Perhaps sire, if me and Morgana were to train the woman, you could continue helping the men." Arthur then looked up at Merlin, perhaps considering his suggestion. His face motioned for Merlin to continue. "I know I'm not the best when it comes to training-" Arthur scoffed loudly at that "- but with you and Morgana's help, we'd be training over forty people…" He then paused, noticing Morgana's victorious smirk as she knew Merlin had won Arthur over. Arthur slowly nodded his head and then placed a hand onto Merlin's shoulder,

"You're not as useless as you look, Merlin." He chimed as he pat Merlin on the back and sauntered past him, making his way to the sword fight practise. As he walked he spun round to look at Morgana and Merlin, "And Morgana…. Be easy on him." He teased, giving Merlin a mocking expression. Merlin falsely laughed and pointed at him mockingly, making it seem as if his joke was funny.

**\\Merlin/**

_**How do I get myself into these situations?**_

Merlin once again deflected another hard blow with his all trusted broomstick. After he stupidly suggested for him and Morgana train the woman of the village, they were both giving examples of how to fight properly with a sword to large crowds of woman.

"And if he comes from behind," Morgana then looked to Merlin, giving him the signal as she turned to the crowd of women. Merlin then proceeded to slowly walked up behind her, cursing himself for getting into this position, before Morgana jabbed him in the stomach. To the audience it was made to look brutal, giving them a realistic response; however him and Morgana had made a pact to not really hurt each other when demonstrating, so really it was just for show. The women watched with wide eyes as Merlin dropped to the floor _'in pain'_. "Then you aim for the stomach," Morgana then finished off with a smile. "So… Any questions?" The group didn't say a word, still observing the moaning Merlin curled on the floor. "Okay..." Morgana spoke positively. "So if you team up into groups of four then you can train with one another with what we've taught you so far." All the woman nodded and soon scattered off into groups.

"Arthur wasn't wrong when he said you knew how to fight," Merlin commented briefly as he got up from the floor, brushing the dirt of his trousers. "I certainly wouldn't want to face you," he joked, giving her a smile. Morgana laughed lightly and sighed, correcting Merlin's scarf that must have messed up when they were doing their demonstration. "Oh, thanks."

Morgana seemed to ignore the thanks as she pushed him away roughly and picked up a sword that was held by the fence. Merlin looked at her puzzled,

"You know it's not just the woman and men that have to train, you do to." She affirmed, giving him a challenging grin as she narrowed him down to the corner with her sword. Merlin panicked,**_ okay, wasn't prepared for this_**, and searched around,

"Fleoge," Merlin muttered as he looked toward the sword that was laid on the floor. The sword hurled up toward him and he caught it, a bit uneasily, but still. Morgana watched the spell with fascination, still not used to the captivating glow of his eyes that soon glowed after he started the spell.

"That's cheating," Morgana remarked, stepping forward and swinging her sword around to the side. Merlin was too preoccupied about not getting hit to reply to her little remark. He deflected her hit and then pushed her forward, making Morgana tumble back slightly, she looked up to him in surprise. _**So he can fight. **_She soon found it as a challenge and gave him a grin, making her blows harder and harder. Merlin gulped and grunted when Morgana tripped him over, causing him to drop his own sword. She laughed lightly and pointed his sword toward his chest.

"That's cheating," he breathed out, his chest heaving up and down. She regarded his words and raised her eyebrow,

"And," she looked around to see if anyone was about, "_magic_, isn't?" Her voice was hushed and quiet but her tone was still mocking and playful.

"Depends how you use it," he replied honestly, shaking his head as he lifted himself up. They both decided they had enough training for that day and made their way toward Hunith's home along with Arthur and Gwen.

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**I CAN'T WAIT FOR SOME OF THE UP COMING CHAPTERS! AH! Aha, after this 'episode' I plan to make a little add in of my own (it will all stay canon to the show, well besides Merlin and Morgana) but I know that many fans have said they've always wanted that particular thing to happen in an episode or such, so it will be amazing to write! **


	12. Ouch

**I've gained 38 followers since the last update. I can't begin to explain how happy that has made me, so thank you very much. It means a lot… Now on with the chapter ..**

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Once Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and Morgana had all eaten their supper, Arthur suggested another early sleep was needed. He admitted that if Kanen were to attack them in the night they would need to be on high alert and ready when need be- unlike the normal snail-like pace at which Merlin _apparently_ awakes every morning. The sly remark made both Morgana and Gwen roll their eyes at Arthur's attempt to tease his servant once again; they each knew Merlin was always on time with his duties… Well, most the time anyway.

Nevertheless they all agreed with Arthur's 'early night' suggestion and slowly said their good night's to one and other.

\\Merlin/

"Do you need anything else?" Merlin asked as he yawned slightly, looking at Arthur with drooping eyes as he was shattered from all the on-going training he had battled all day. Arthur too was gradually becoming tired; he shook his head and collapsed onto the bed, not caring that he was still in his normal clothes. Merlin smiled in relief; _**at least I don't have to change him**_, before he too settled down and covered the blanket around his cold body…

..

Merlin smiled as he shuffled onto his side on the floor, he had managed a few hours' restful sleep- even if he had spent half of the time attempting to find a comfy position- and he was contempt. He would have slept for longer if it weren't for the hushed undertones that woke him up. His eyes fluttered open at the sound of whispering. He glanced up from his comfortable position and searched around the room, thinking Arthur may have gotten up for a midnight snack, but found the sleeping princess still snoring loudly while in his slumber. Merlin's brow creased as he concentrated on the hushed voices.

"We don't stand a chance," the first voice muttered, Merlin's lips pursed as he realised the voice was Gwen's from the room next door to him. He blinked and looked downward, the simple words saddened him, as he always thought Gwen was an optimist. He would never have expected Gwen to admit defeat so early. He easily guessed that it was Morgana who Gwen was talking to, either that or she was worryingly talking to herself, and waited patiently for Morgana's response. Seeking some optimism from Morgana's part, Merlin closed his ear onto the nearest wall, hoping to hear them more clearly.

"Arthur can't see that. He's too stubborn." Morgana responded belatedly, her response was hindered, almost like she knew Merlin was listening in on their conversation. Merlin's eyebrows furrowed, creating two parallel frown lines, as he considered their opinions. So they both thought they didn't stand a chance? Gwen and Morgana were always the figures of encouragement when Merlin was feeling down, he knew he could rely on them if he needed help. Well, it looked like the tables had turned. _He_ needed to boost _their _spirits, the last thing he needed was discouragement from both Gwen and Morgana- he already felt worried for his towns safety, he needed his friends support.

He wanted to talk to them, dismiss any worries they had. He hesitantly got up from his 'bed', making sure not to wake Arthur, and tip toed his way towards the bedroom in which the girls were sleeping in. Softly knocking onto the door, Merlin thought of what he could say to them. _That everything was going to be okay? That nobody was going to get hurt?_ Sure, he could say that, but then he would by lying, and how would that help encourage them? He huffed and rubbed at his eyes as he waited. After a couple of seconds the door opened slowly, with Morgana's head poking out of it. Merlin attempted a smiled.

"Merlin," she whispered with a small smile, she poked her head out the door, checking if anyone else was with him and then pulled him into their room. "Why are you here?" She asked as she walked over to her bed and wrapped the cover around her. Merlin soon followed her and sauntered around the corner, he would have lied if he said he did not smirk as he noticed Gwen and Morgana were sat opposite each other with a small lit candle placed in the middle.

"Merlin," Gwen greeted, her tone surprised and yet delighted at the same time. Merlin nodded toward her and stood awkwardly next to the wall. Both the girls then looked at each other and both telepathically decided to make a space for Merlin to sit. He blinked as he watched them both move their pillows in the middle, creating a little space preserved for him.

"Oh, thanks," he thanked as he plopped himself onto the soft pillows, he sank slightly and awkwardly lifted himself up, noticing Gwen was watching him with an amused grin. Morgana had moved the candle to the side to save Merlin catching himself on fire.

"So what brings you here, Merlin?" Gwen asked politely, moving on her blanket to face him. He too moved back a bit so as he could look at the two of them, his expression slowly faltered as he watched Gwen's face turn worrisome.

"I heard you two talking earlier," he admitted, looking down to the candle. Both Gwen and Morgana glanced at each other, knowing what he meant. "We _will_ beat Kanen," he guaranteed, staring at the both of them with a certain optimism that made shivers go down their spines. Neither said anything for a beat, but then Morgana turned to look at Merlin. He watched her with a solemn expression.

"Of course we will, Merlin," Morgana reassured, her eyes reflecting from the soft light of the candle. Merlin blinked, _**what, but I thought she agreed with Gwen? **_Morgana noticed his perplexed look and continued, "From what I'm guessing you heard me say Arthur's too stubborn?" Merlin nodded his head so she continued. "He may have allowed us to train the women, but I can guarantee he will not allow them to fight. Arthur never did like to have many knights with him on search parties, it's because he had less people to protect and worry over."

Gwen put out her hand for Merlin to take, he took it gladly- after all, they were good friends- and gave them both a smile.

"So you don't think we'll win unless the women fight too?" He asked, slightly unsure of the idea himself. Gwen tightened her grasp on his hand,

"The woman should have the right to fight too," Gwen affirmed. Morgana nodded in agreement.

"She's right Merlin. Their loved ones will be out there fighting, I'm sure they'd want to be out there to protect them too." Merlin licked his lips and nodded slowly,

"I'll talk to Arthur in the morning," he assured giving them both a hidden smirk, slightly relieved that they weren't as negative as he first thought. He _knew_ he could count on them two. They both always had good hearts.

"Well, if anyone could convince Arthur it would be you," Gwen confirmed with a knowing smile. Merlin nearly openly laughed at the suggestion,

"Me!?" His voice was undoubtedly surprised, _**me, out of everybody.. Me!**_ "I'm just his servant, he doesn't car-" Before he could finish his sentence Morgana shook her head.

"Arthur may act like he doesn't care, but he wouldn't be here if he didn't." She confirmed before he could admit to something that was completely untrue. He still didn't look convinced and Morgana sighed, she looked to Gwen in disbelief, who also looked rather shocked by how much Merlin looked down on himself. Morgana turned back to Merlin, the look in her eyes was sympathetic, like she purely felt sorry for Merlin. Did he really feel like Arthur didn't care? "Arthur is stubborn, I'll admit to that, but, when he wants to be, he can be kind and will help the people he cares for." Merlin waited for her to continue. "The fact that Arthur even _thought_ about helping you is a big step for him, but actually coming here and helping you… You can't deny that he cares for you."

Merlin didn't know what to say, what could he say? Arthur had treated him nothing but a servant, called him clotpole and God knows what else. Merlin gulped as he thought about Morgana's words… Maybe Arthur did care for him, even if he would never admit it.

\\Merlin/

Merlin stood and watched as Arthur began to train the men once again. His thought were elsewhere however as he recalled the fact how he had fallen asleep the night before with a smile on his face. The girls were very assured and convinced that Arthur liked Merlin- _as a friend_. Merlin scoffed._** Well, that's a start. Now to just reunite Albion and allow magic to be used freely. Yeap, no problem. **_

Merlin's thoughts were interrupted when a loud scream echoed throughout the village. Merlin's head shot up as he searched around, only to find everybody had crowded around in a circle near his house. He didn't even stop to think about anything, he instantly dropped everything he was holding and ran to the crowd. Arthur watched as Merlin sprinted to the crowd, he observed the frightened look he had worn and worried, had something happened to Hunith? Arthur had no hesitation to run after Merlin and join the crowd.

Merlin felt as though he was about to pass out, if his mother was hurt in _any_ way, he wouldn't know what he would do.

Merlin pushed through the crowd urgently only to find a man strapped around a donkey. It was Matthew. Merlin remembered Arthur had sent him to organise sentry duty to keep an eye out for Kanen and his men. Merlin closed his eyes in sorrow; Matthew's fiancé had turned up to the scene. She automatically broke down when she noticed Matthew, the tears instantly fell down her face, she screamed, in both anger and devastation. Merlin then noticed something was attached to Matthew, he was hesitant to walk over and investigate, he didn't want to upset the fiancé.

"Arthur," Merlin called out, hoping he was nearby.

"I know," was the immediate reply from behind. Merlin would have jumped if he was in a normal state but right then he was too preoccupied with Matthew being dead to be scared. Arthur sighed and slowly walked toward the body, his head hung low as he retrieved the note that was pinned to Matthew's clothing. He noticed everybody was staring at him, waiting for him to read the message; Arthur coughed and breathed in heavily,

"It says, 'make the most of this day, it will be your last.'" He read out loud, he shook his head and scrunched up the message in his hand- clearly angry.

Merlin watched as Will randomly charged from the crowd, pointing at Arthur accusingly.

"You did this! Look what you've done! You've killed him!" He yelled in fury, walking up to him so as they were only centimetres apart. Merlin watched him with wide eyes and moved to pull Will back by his shirt.

"Will, it wasn't his fault." He commented loudly, trying to calm him down and prevent from any fight from happening.

"If he hadn't been strutting around, treating us like his own personal army, this would never have happened!" He replied, his voice still filled with hatred and distaste. Merlin had never seen him so angry before; did he really feel that angry toward Arthur? Merlin also noticed that more and more people had started to gather around the circle, including Hunith, Gwen and Morgana. He looked to them for help and Hunith came out of the crowd,

"Will, that is enough!" She yelled above everyone. The whole village turned silent, the only sound heard being the cries of the still hysterical fiancé. Merlin gulped as he watched Will, who was breathing heavily and ragged. He then kicked at the ground, rocks and pebbles flew everywhere, before he stormed off.

Morgana watched the scene with a concerned expression. She saw Will storm off and observed Merlin's response. He was obviously torn, wanting to go to Will and calm him down or to stay with Arthur. Morgana slid her way through the crowd and stood behind Merlin,

"You go after him, I'll help Arthur," she offered. He looked to her and nodded.

\\Merlin/

Merlin ran after Will, déjà vu running through Merlin's mind. It was only a few days before when this was happening before, only this time Will was _furious_. He entered the room in which Will ran into and sighed heavily when he noticed Will was slashing his sword at a fake dummy.

"Don't bother, Merlin. I'm not interested," Will commented plainly, obviously not wanting any small talk.

"You should be. Because tomorrow Kanen attacks, and whether you like it or not, we'll have to fight." Merlin said. He didn't speak friendly; he knew Will wouldn't listen to him if he were soft and gentle. He had dealt with Will like this before, perhaps not as extreme, and he knew how to calm him down or at least see some sense into him.

"Not if I'm not here," was his only reply before he raised his sword and aimed at the dummy's head.

"Well, that's up to you, but the rest of us are staying. Join us, Will! This isn't about Arthur; this is about your friends. Are you really going to abandon them?" Merlin asked earnestly as he slowly moved toward him so as Will would have to stare at him instead of avoiding him.

"What, like you did?"

_**Ouch. **_Merlin felt his stomach drop. That stung. But he couldn't let his emotions show, this wasn't about him, it was about Will and getting him to help tomorrow.

"I'm here now," he offered, pointing at himself in hope that Will would soften up, though he showed no sign of brightening up.

"Yeah. Yeah, you are. Here with your _Prince_ and your _girlfriend_ and your other _friend_." Will replied, his tone venomous. Merlin flinched at his words, he knew he didn't mean it, this was just the anger talking, but it still hurt. Will slammed his sword to the floor and turned to properly look at Merlin, "and you could end this! If you used your magic, then no one else would have to die."

"You know I can't," Merlin replied, his voice weak. Will's words had affected him more than he thought.

"Can't or won't? I'm not the one abandoning these people, Merlin. _**You are**_."

**\\Merlin/**

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**OOOooooOOOh. I'm so sorry for the delay, I was ill last week and because of the news about Merlin ending at the end of series 5 I had to adjust some of my plan for this story. Nothing major! Don't worry, just minor adjustments. But I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU, because all those added favourites and alerts really made me happy, I was doing little jumps for every email I received through my phone. So thank you! Also, seeming I've been asked a few times, I've put a list on my profile of Mergana fan video's. My personal favourites (and I'm very picky), so they're goof quality. Hope you enjoy. **


	13. There's always a choice

Merlin entered his home with his head held low. The talk he just had with Will was not exactly what was expected. He trusted Will, thought of him as a brother, and then he selfishly suggested that Merlin should reveal his magic. Albeit, for the safety of his village and home, but that should be a last resort, one that Will, as the best friend he should have been, should not have advised until the very end- when he knew that nothing else would work to stop Kanen- not at the very beginning when they hadn't even tried anything different.

He hadn't expected to see Hunith and his friends in his home either. Arthur, Gwen and Morgana were sat around his table obviously discussing something of importance. None of them had noticed his appearance except from Hunith, who looked at him with a concerned expression. He plastered a fake smile onto his face and took off his boots and jacket. He wouldn't tell them of his and Will's fight, they already had enough to deal with, he didn't want them to fuss over him because of a stupid little misunderstanding between him and his old friend.

As he walked over to the table he heard Arthur debating over something with Morgana, who didn't seem impressed.

"Kanen's men could attack from any position. We need to get the woman and children out of here before Kanen decides to strike," Arthur assured while doing hand demonstrations onto the table. Morgana rolled her eyes, and Merlin could have guessed the debate must have been going on for as long as he was absent. He felt like head banging his head off the wall, he had promised both Gwen and Morgana he would talk to Arthur about this yesterday night, he must have forgotten when he was too busy doing Arthur's morning chores.

"The women _want_ to stay and fight Arthur. We can hide the children away in safety while we're fighting." Morgana proclaimed as she leant forward onto her chair. It was then that she noticed Merlin had entered the room, she sighed in relief- now that Merlin was there, Arthur would finally see sense.

"Merlin," Gwen more than exclaimed, happy to have somebody around whom didn't argue with someone every two minutes. He gave her a little nod and pulled out a chair for himself, which unfortunately happened to be in between Arthur and Morgana- _**oh great**_.

"And where exactly have you been?" Arthur asked motioning his hands in the air, his expression showing obvious annoyance- probably from listening and arguing with Morgana for an extended period of time- or so Merlin assumed.

"Will said he isn't going to help tomorrow," Merlin stated, knowing that was all that needed saying. Both Morgana and Arthur's eyebrows rose in shock simultaneously. Arthur blinked and cleared his throat,

"I'm sorry Merlin." He apologised, "I know he's a good friend of yours," Arthur recalled, placing his hands together on the table. Merlin nodded his head. Even though he was heartbroken inside, he didn't show it. He spent no time grieving over his friend's disloyalty and pulled his chair in so as he could rest his arms on the table, there were greater things at stake- one being his mother's life. He pulled a straight face and turned to Arthur, determination in his eyes.

"So, what are we going to do?" He asked, looking around the table at everyone.

Morgana looked at Arthur with a knowing expression, expecting him to tell Merlin that they would escort the women and children to safety and suggest the exact opposite to what she said, yet he didn't. Instead he scratched at his chin and nodded to _her_, as if giving her the chance to take command. Morgana gave him a perplexed look, and so did Gwen- surely by now he understood that his and her plans were opposite, so why would he let Morgana speak _her_ opinion? Morgana then realised that Arthur may have slowly come to agree with Morgana's suggestion. Nevertheless, she turned to Merlin, who was awaiting some sort of plan.

"There's no way we can defeat Kanen without fighting back," she commented, earning a nod from Hunith and Gwen. "So I say we fight back just as hard." Merlin breathed in slowly, looked like he would need some armour himself. He then turned when Arthur began to speak,

"I told the people that we would have a meeting here tonight at the barn. Tell them what is happening," Arthur added on earnestly. "We can't do this without them, and after Matthew's death I'm not sure they're as ready as what they once were."

"These people have never witnessed death before Arthur, back in Camelot; people are burned to the stake and killed nearly every day." Gwen admitted rather soulfully. "I'm sure Matthew's death was a horrible shock to them, in fact to us all, they've just lost a friend. It's normal for them to not be as optimistic as before."

Morgana briefly watched Merlin as Gwen spoke. He seemed so calm and composed to say what they had been through that day, she promised herself she would talk to him later about what really happened between him and Will.

"Yes, of course, you're right Guinevere." Arthur replied solemnly.

\\Merlin/

They were all stood by the door, putting on their jackets and coats getting ready to meet everyone at the barn. It had turned dark outside and that's when they arranged for the meeting. As Morgana slowly pulled her leather boots on, she turned to make sure Arthur was out of ear's reach, seeing him in the other corner- with Merlin tying the laces on his own boots- Morgana moved herself closer to Gwen. Gwen, who at the time was tying a belt around her shirt, looked up to her mistress and smiled politely.

"Gwen, if I asked you to do something for me without asking why, would you do it for me?" Morgana asked in a whisper, checking to see if Arthur or Merlin had heard.

"Of- Of course my lady, but-" Gwen muttered confused, her expression baffled and slightly concerned. Morgana felt like laughing, she didn't mean the request in any serious way, and by the way Gwen looked at her worryingly, she guessed Gwen must have thought it was. She smiled lightly and placed her hand on Gwen's shoulder,

"I just need you to distract Arthur, that's all," she affirmed nonchalantly before continuing fastening her other boot. Gwen's hard expression soon softened when she realised Morgana was in no serious situation, but she still watched her in curiosity. Sure she promised she wouldn't ask, but she was still interested as to why she would need to distract Arthur. Gwen turned to watch the boys in the corner, hoping to find any clues as to why Morgana would need Arthur to be distracted. And then her brain ticked, _Merlin_. She wanted to be alone with Merlin. Without realising, Gwen smiled to herself while finishing her belt, earning a baffled expression from Morgana.

"What's with the heart-warming smile?" Morgana asked, slightly insecure that she had done something wrong when fastening her boot. She looked it over and saw nothing wrong, making Gwen laugh quietly,

"Nothing, my lady." She dismissed, dare the thought of her even _mentioning_ Merlin's name. Then Gwen made sure to quieten her voice before she spoke again, "so when is it I exactly need to distract Art-"

"Right about now," Morgana interrupted quickly as Arthur and Merlin walked over to them, ready to leave. She made it look as if she was searching for something, trying to make it look unobvious. "Gwen did I forget to bring a jacket with me? 'Cause I can't seem to find mine…" She then winked at Gwen subtly, because of course, she _had_ brought a jacket- it was just all part of her plan. Gwen quickly caught on.

"Oh, I apologise, I thought I put it in your bag whe-"

"Nonsense," Arthur called out as he watched the two girls dilly-dally over their clothing. He then turned and punched Merlin in the arm, "I'm sure Merlin has a spare jacket you can use just for tonight." Merlin then half smiled at Arthur mockingly and then rubbed at his arm.

"S-sure, I'll just go and-"

"No that's fine, I'll get it myself," Morgana then stood up and looked to Arthur, "you can carry on," she then turned to Gwen too, "I'll only be a second." Giving her the hint that it was _now_ that she wanted her to distract Arthur. Morgana then made her way to what she thought was Merlin's bedroom. Arthur then looked at Gwen with a frown before Gwen decided to get up herself,

"We can't be late," Gwen reminded, making Arthur hasten his movement and place his hand on the door knob. He then turned to Merlin,

"Merlin try and see if you can find a jacket for her and then join us at the barn." Arthur commanded before he held the door open for Gwen. Merlin nodded,

"Of course, sire." He assured before walking into his own bedroom.

…

Morgana entered Merlin's room with one eye closed. She expected it to be messy, much like every other male's bedroom in Camelot, but was surprised when she found it nearly spotless. _**Well, he is a servant.**_ She opened her one closed eye and found herself looking around Merlin's bedroom. It wasn't anything like Arthur's back at home, but it had a cosy, warm feel about it. It was simple and not too decorative- though she would have had to have more pillows herself.

Not long after Merlin entered the room.

"Right, umm.." He said out loud as he placed his hands on his hips, he then walked over to the end of the bedroom to check through his wardrobe.

"Merlin," Morgana called, she thought it was obvious that she wanted to talk to him, maybe not then. He stopped looking through his wardrobe and poked his head around the door, his face showing a blithe expression. Morgana then decided to sit on his bed and pat the side next to her, suggesting that she wanted to talk. Merlin then threw one of the clothes he still had in his hand into the wardrobe and joined Morgana.

"You want to talk about Will," he clarified, earning a nod from her behalf. He breathed in and sighed. "There's not much to say really. He thinks that I'm endangering the village, believes that the only hope we have is my magic." He told her, his voice soft yet clear. Morgana watched him intently; saw how his hands couldn't stop fidgeting with his shirt.

"Magic isn't something you should have to hide," Morgana countered. Merlin then looked up to her,**_ is she backing up Will?_** "But…" Morgana then added on. "I don't think it's the solution to this. Kanen may have his men, but so do we. I've seen the work of magic, seen what it's capable of. But is it really worth the risk of everyone knowing of your powers?" She asked him honestly. Merlin looked down,

"If it comes to a choice between saving people's lives and revealing who I really am," his sentence stopped as he thought for a second. He then turned to look at Morgana, watching her eyes stare right back at him closely, "then there is no choice."

"There's always a choice." Morgana recalled confidently, still looking into his eyes. "And besides," her tone in voice then become a lot lighter and more spirited, "you don't have to choose them yourself anymore." She admitted and then poked him in the rib, making him flap his arms in the air like an idiot, making her laugh. He huffed in annoyance- only because she so easily managed to find his weak spot- and stood up,

"We best get going," he stated. After she had stopped laughing Morgana stood up and made her way to the door with a smile on her face. Merlin then frowned, "hang on." He then took off his jacket and handed it her, "You weren't wrong when you said you don't have a jacket, take mine." Morgana looked at it with a raised eyebrow and then looked at Merlin.

"Well, aren't you the gentleman."

"Only for you," he joked as he then moved to open the door for her. As Merlin's back was briefly to her, Morgana swore she had blushed. _Only for you._ She knew it was just a joke but it didn't stop her from freezing and flushing slightly.

\\Merlin/

Merlin and Morgana both walked into the barn. Everybody was already there, both men and woman, staring at Arthur who was in the middle of the huddled group.

"After some agreement, I've come to the decision that the woman who wish to stay here can stay. If you want to fight, then you should have that right to- I'm not going to stop you. If you want to fight to defend, that's your choice. I'd be honoured to stand alongside you." He announced, earning many, many appreciative nods from many women in the whole group. Arthur continued, "However, there are children here. So we're going to need some people to gather whatever belongings they can carry and go to the woods with them. Not all of us can stay here."

Morgana looked to Arthur proudly, she knew it was a big thing for him to allow woman to also fight. He wanted as many people away from this village as he could, but it couldn't work like that, not when he needed people to stay and fight.

"I just want you to know you're not fighting because someone's ordering you to. You're fighting for so much more than that. You fight for your homes. You fight for your family. You fight for your friends. You fight for the right to grow crops in peace. And if you fall, you fall fighting for the noblest of causes: fighting for your very right to survive! And when you're old and grey, you'll look back on this day, and you'll know you earned the right to live every day in between! So you fight! For your family! For your friends!" Arthur said, every single word expressed with true meaning and purpose.

"For Ealdor!" Morgana yelled, raising her arm up. Many of the townsfolk followed her actions and not long after the entire village was soon chanting 'for Ealdor'. Merlin smiled at Morgana,

"For Ealdor!" He yelled at the top of his voice.

\\Merlin/

Merlin awoke bright and early. He smacked his lips together realising he was in need of a drink.

"Finally awake, Merlin." He heard somebody call from beside him. Merlin's brow furrowed as he turned up from the floor, only to see an up and ready Arthur dressing himself. _Dressing __**himself**_. Merlin nearly fell out of the bed it was that much of a shock.

"Ar-Arthur, you're dressing yourself!" Merlin exclaimed as he climbed out of bed and stared gawkily at Arthur, still too shocked to move. _**Is this a dream? **_ Arthur looked at him with raised eye brows before he scoffed.

"I'm Prince of Camelot," he exclaimed with a hurt expression that soon turned into an annoyed one. He turned around on the spot to find something to chuck at him, '_something'_ being a helmet.

"Ow," Merlin cried in pain before instantly rubbing at his head soothingly. Merlin then huffed and made his way to get his armour that Gwen managed to collect from Camelot.

After a few minutes Merlin had managed to quickly dress himself into his armour- thanks to the many practises with Arthur back at Camelot, he could dress in literally seconds.

"Whatever happens out there today, please don't think any differently of me," Merlin said, his tone serious as he looked up from the buckles he was fastening. Arthur looked up from his own chainmail and observed Merlin, how nervous and anxious he appeared.

"I won't. It's alright to be scared, Merlin." Arthur replied light-heartedly while he pat him on the back. Merlin shook his head,

"That's not what I meant."

Arthur grabbed the sword from his bed and sheathed it into his holder.

"What is it?" He asked as he tightened the fastening on his own buckle. He turned around to look at Merlin properly. Merlin noticed how calm his face was to say he was going into battle, _**perhaps it's just me then. **_"If you've got something to say, now's the time to say it." Merlin had to bite onto his tongue from saying something he knew he would regret.

"Arthur," Morgana entered the room hurriedly, her voice nervous. "They've crossed the river." Both Merlin and Arthur looked at each other simultaneously and then swiftly grabbed their weapons and ran out the door. Merlin gave Morgana a little smirk before he moved past her.

* * *

**So the next chapter will have LOADS of action. I hopefully plenty a Mergana teamwork. Yey. I think that will be the last chapter for this episode. So stay tuned (wow that sounds cheesy). And thank you for the alert. I'm three away from one hundred :o Oh my life, I can't believe it, THANK YOU SO MUCH**

**And to answer your question Esther. I think the song 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford and sons and also 'Lanfill' by Daughter, really suit Mergana. The lyrics just FIT. So I hope they're good for you :) **


	14. Keep your talents hidden

Morgana, Arthur and Merlin ran to the little houses where the majority of the townsfolk were hidden. They all held their weapons- pitchforks, swords, brooms… By the look of it, anything they could have grabbed their hands on. Arthur sheathed his sword and bent down to talk to the villagers.

Merlin stayed behind and took the role of look out, searching around for any sign of bandits. His heart was racing; any sly movements and his body would react instantly.

"You ready?" Morgana breathed out as she crept up behind him. He flinched at the sound of her voice, thinking it was a bandit, but then soon calmed when he acknowledged it was Morgana.

"If that's the right word," he replied seriously as he continued to watch the open fields and the woods that followed them- almost waiting for a wave of men to come charging at them.

"Need a blanket to make you feel better?" She joked, trying to lighten the tension in the air. She heard him chuckle softly, the corner of his lips curving into a hidden smile.

"I can't do that, you know what the Prince is like when he's without his blanket," he replied, his voice more relaxed and light-hearted, making Morgana smirk beside him. Their conversation was then broken when a quiet cheer was heard from Arthur's direction- it seemed his little pep talk with the villagers had worked. Both Merlin and Morgana looked at each other with knowing smirks when they watched Arthur shake Gwen's hand more than a little too friendly.

"Right," Arthur breathed out as he walked up toward Merlin and Morgana, Gwen was beside him with a shy smile. "We'll take our positions. You and Morgana can hide behind that wall," he commented, pointing to a steep stone wall that was hidden behind a building. "I'll give the signal when you need to light the fire. If anything goes wrong then meet us back here, okay?" He looked between them both, giving them a serious look. Morgana nodded and smiled to Gwen before she ran to position,

"Be careful," Morgana advised, a worried look etched across her face. Gwen walked up to her and gave her a friendly hug.

"You to milady," she whispered, though her voice was muffled from speaking into Morgana's hair. They both pulled away knowing that the next time they'll see each other could very well be their last.

Merlin placed his hand onto Morgana's shoulder, indicating that they should get going.

"We'll see you later then," Arthur called as they both ran to the stone wall in which they would hide.

…

It had been at least half an hour they had waited. Merlin stood hunched over with his head peaking over the wall as he waited for any signs of movement. Even a command from Arthur would have been good for the silence they were stuck in- it was daunting, and did nothing to help the anxiety that had Merlin constantly checking to see if Morgana was still behind him.

He checked once again and saw nothing; he dropped back down to sit next to Morgana who was sat down leaning on the wall- her sword on the floor next to her in case she needed to use it quickly, instead of wasting precious time struggling to unsheathe her sword.

"Nothing?" She asked, the first words she had spoken in a while. Merlin shook his head and moved his legs toward his chest, placing his hands on his knees.

"Your magic," Morgana muttered as she copied his actions, wrapping her arms around her legs because of the cold. "Just how many times have you saved people's lives with it?" She turned to him in curiosity, wanting to make conversation. Merlin chuckled and scratched at his cheek,

"Quite a few," he admitted coyly. He was never used to the attention, even when people said thank you to him he would always give them a shy nod or tell them _not to worry about it_, even though he probably was nearly killed for helping them in the first place. He could still feel Morgana's eyes staring at him as he turned to the floor in a sheepish manner. She gasped,

"When the evil sorceress tried to kill Arthur with the knife, you used magic didn't you?" She looked at him in amazement, and then that's when everything started to link together. How Arthur had guessed Valiant had cheated from the beginning, how Arthur's torch had _magically_ killed the beast in the dungeon that was poisoning the city's water supply, the trouble with Sophia and Arthur… That was all stopped and prevented from one person. Merlin. How did she not notice beforehand, was she so completely oblivious to the thought that someone like Merlin could possibly do such courageous things?

"Well, someone had to save him." He confessed with an amused smile, thinking back on the first moment his magic had saved everybody- including Morgana. "And my reward was being his _servant_." He shook his head in disbelief. Morgana was left gobsmacked, he had done so much, saved so many people, and he reward was nothing. Not even a thanks. And then another thought occurred to her, he didn't have anything to do with Edwin did he?

"You saved Uther as well, didn't you?" Morgana asked with furrowed eyebrows as she tried to remember exactly what happened. She recalled being incredibly ill and not having the energy to move, and that's when Edwin came along and cured her. Uther also caught the disease not long after Morgana and Gaius managed to heal him, without Edwin's help. Uther declared the day after that Edwin had in fact been a sorcerer and was found dead in his own chambers. At the time she thought nothing of it, just glad she was no longer in the terrible state Edwin had put her in, but now that she thought back on it…

"Yes, I did..." He replied quietly, remembering how nervous he was when he had to perform magic _in front_ of the King himself.

"But you could have been caught, Uther would hav-"

"I couldn't just let him die, Morgana." He admitted, turning around to face her. "He may not like people like me, but think of all the people who love him. Camelot's people, the knights… _Arthur_. If he would have died I don't think Arthur would have been able to cope."

Morgana stayed in silence as she thought about the things Merlin had to go through. The disbelief, the pain, the lies… He wouldn't even be thanked at the end of it all. Morgana decided to herself that she would end that pattern from then on. He would be thanked for all the things he would do and be appreciated like he should have been already multiple times, starting now.

"I know it's a little late, given that we're about to go into battle, but thank you." Her words were meaningful and grateful. Merlin smiled up at her, she was the first person to say thank you to him. It made him smile a true thankful grin, expressing just how happy he was to hear those simple words.

"You don't need to thank me," he offered as he shook his head dismissively.

"I think _many_ thanks are in order," she replied stubbornly, if he thought for one second he was going to walk into battle thinking nobody was grateful for his help, then boy was he wrong. "In fact, _when_ we get back," she continued prodding him with her finger, "I'll organise a night. Just for you. As a thank you." Merlin shook his head,

"You don't need to do that Mo-"

"I _insist_," she interrupted him with a smile. He sighed, a sign that he had given up, and then chuckled to himself, she was so stubborn at times- _**not that I'd ever say that out loud**_.

Merlin's smile was soon swiped from his face when he heard the familiar noise of galloping horses. Morgana looked toward him alerted; he motioned for her to get down as he peeked from behind the wall.

They were coming.

Merlin watched as thirty or forty men charged toward the village with their weapons ready. He crouched down beside Morgana, who had made sure to collect her sword from the floor and was now holding it in a tight grasp, and nodded.

"They're coming," he whispered as he grabbed Morgana by the shoulders and pressed her against the wall. Morgana felt the need to push him away- what on Earth was he doing?- but then noticed a bandit slowly gallop past the brick wall. Merlin had covered her mouth from yelling at him to get off. Both their breathing quietened and slowed down as they watched the man look around them- trying to spot any men or women who were hidden in their homes. Luckily, Merlin had pushed them in the shadows so as they were hidden away from sight, meaning he didn't spot them. Merlin gulped, it was too close for comfort.

Morgana's eyes widened when she heard Kanen's voice.

"Come out, come out. Wherever you are." Even his voice was enough to make her cringe. And that's when the wooden gates slammed closed- Arthur must have ordered the people to close the bandits in- now they were just reliant on Morgana to start the fire.

Morgana slowly pulled away Merlin's hand from her mouth and pointed to the stones that were placed on the floor ready to start the fire, but with the bandit watching that area from above them Morgana didn't know what to do. She gave Merlin a nudge. He stopped watching the man and turned to Morgana with a confused look.

'_The fire' _she mimed the words to him, pointing her head to the stones that lay on the floor mockingly. Merlin licked his lips, they were stuck and Arthur was depending on them to start the fire. He breathed in and closed his eyes,

"Baerne," he muttered. Morgana watched as the stones then floated in the air and rubbed together, creating a large spark for the flame start. The little flame caught onto the prepared line and the fire erupted, covering the whole outskirts of the village- meaning no escape route for the bandits. Morgana heard Arthur shout 'now' further in the distance and that's when all hell broke loose. People charged from all directions, shouting at the top of their voices, yelling and threatening the bandits. Merlin turned back to Morgana and grabbed her hand,

"You ready?" He repeated Morgana's words from earlier that morning. She smirked and tightened her grip on his hands,

"If that's the right word," she replied back with a amused look. Merlin smiled slightly and put his hand in the air,

'_On three' _he mimed to her and then counted down on his hands. 'One. Two…' He waited to see if the bandit that was still stood by the wall would turn around, but it appeared not. _**Looks like were running for it.**_ '_Three_.'

They both sprinted alongside the wall, Merlin made sure Morgana would be in front of him. They didn't look back in fear the man had noticed them, which unfortunately for them, he did. The muscular man raised his bow and pulled back on the string and arrow, closing his one eye as he focused on his target. Merlin noticed the man aiming for them and pushed Morgana into a stack of hay to the right of them without thinking. She landed with an umph and it sounded like she may have hit her head. Yet that was a lot nicer than what was to come for Merlin as he was too late. The arrow whizzed through the air at a penetrating speed, hitting Merlin in the leg. He shouted out in pain, clutching to his leg where the arrow hit him.

"Merlin!" Morgana yelled out from the haystack. The man who hit Merlin laughed and rode his horse toward them with a gritty expression. Morgana searched around for anyone to help but found no one, she cursed and ran over to Merlin who was holding the wall for support. She helped him walk and gently lied him down on the haystack- he was bleeding quite badly.

The bandit was then only a metre away from her, his sword drawn, as he approached her with a mocking gaze.

"You picked the wrong fight, girly." He commented, his voice venomous and mocking as he swung his sword toward her. Morgana blocked it with her own and kicked his stomach, making him pummel back and drop his sword. She picked up a rock from the floor and hit him over the head with it, sending him into unconsciousness. She smiled to herself in victory but then was reminded of Merlin when she heard him groan behind her.

After making sure nobody was around to sneak up on her, Morgana placed her sword to the side and inspected Merlin's injury. She looked over him hesitantly, scared of what she would find, but noticed there was no arrow attached to his body- it was just a graze. Morgana sighed out in relief. That's when she heard the familiar voice of the annoying Arthur Pendragon.

"Is he sleeping, again?!" He asked harshly as he knocked someone out cold with a punch. Morgana ignored him and instead smiled to Merlin hopeful, reassuring him that it would be fine.

"He was hit," was the only words that came from Morgana's mouth. Arthur's eyes widened as he ran over to them.

"Is he okay? How did this happen?" His questions were urgent, he couldn't lose Merlin, he was the sole reason for him being there. He too bent down to inspect his wound, Merlin flinched as he got up from the position he was in.

"A bandit was watching our area and I got hit," he answered him. As he got up he looked at the wound himself, thankfully it was just a graze, but it was still bleeding quite heavily. Arthur nodded in understanding.

"You'll need to apply some pressure to that," he advised. Morgana then looked up, an idea in her head.

"Here," she had spoken hastily as she unbuckled the fastening to her cloak. She then teared it, much to Arthur's surprise and dismay, ripping it into four small pieces. She grabbed the one and then started to wrap it around Merlin's leg, making sure to add a tight knot at the end. Arthur then patted Merlin on the back,

"I have to go on, the people need me."

"That's fine," Merlin replied, wincing as Morgana tightened the cloth. "We're okay here." Morgana licked her lips and turned to Arthur before he left,

"Be careful too Arthur."

"Will do," he shouted behind his shoulder as he continued to fight off other bandits.

"Thank you," Merlin thanked as he got up from the haystack, it appeared the injury wasn't as bad as he first thought; the pain was more of a numbness to his leg, meaning he was able to walk.

"I should be thanking you, you're the one who saved me," she reminded him, giving him an appreciative look. He smiled slightly before looking around the village, many homes were on fire and the fields were filled with fallen men.

"Come on," Merlin offered, motioning her to follow. Morgana nodded and grabbed her sword.

They jogged to another part of the village; many bodies were sprawled across the floor there too, and the silence was deafening. Morgana tightened the grip on her sword; it was too quiet for her liking. As if on cue three men charged at them aggressively, shouting at the top of their voices. Merlin and Morgana moved so as they were back to back.

Morgana stabbed her first man instantly, no regret on her face as she watched the man tumble to the floor. Merlin on the other hand found himself blocking most of his enemies hits, they were strong and powerful, enough to shatter a sword in two if they tried. Morgana understood he wouldn't last long and punched her next target in the jaw,

"Switch," she called out. Merlin was too busy parrying with his enemy to understand what she meant before she grabbed hold of him and switched their positions, so as Morgana was now against the tall dark haired masculine.

Merlin took his chance to knock out the man that Morgana had already partially wounded and smirked, until he noticed that the man against Morgana was too strong for her as well. The man disarmed her of her weapon and raised his own but before he could strike Will jumped out from nowhere and killed the man with his dagger. Merlin laughed in disbelief,

"I didn't think you were coming," Merlin spoke as he watched him retrieve his dagger from the body.

"Neither did I," Will responded honestly as gave Merlin a smile; he turned to Morgana and nodded. "Nice to see you again." He spoke, his voice earnest and his expression blithe. Morgana hadn't really taken a liking to Will, but if he was trying to act nice, then she could at least return the favour.

"Thank you for saving me." Morgana said as she moved to pick up her weapon that the bandit managed to disarm her of- she felt so embarrassed, that had never happened before, not even from Arthur. Will nodded. He looked toward Merlin and pointed behind himself.

"I think you should come with me, it doesn't look too good," he admitted before setting off. Morgana and Merlin turned to each other with worried expressions and followed Will.

..

Will had finally stopped running and Merlin began to breathe rapidly- trying got catch his breath. As soon as the dizziness in his head stopped from the lack of oxygen he perceived the state of the town. Morgana then stood by his side and lowered her sword. Merlin's jaw clenched together as he watched the villagers start losing. There were still so many bandits and only a few villagers, they'd never win.

"There's too many of them," Will recognized as he, Merlin and Morgana stopped to assess the situation.

"Not for me there isn't," Merlin confessed. He then lifted up his hand and was about to cast his spell before Morgana batted it away. She turned to him with an cross and shocked expression,

"Merlin, you _can't_." She warned him. He shook his head,

"Morgana without my help people will die," he admitted before he raised his hand again, and before Morgana could stop him that time, he quickly whispered the words, "Cume thoden."

They all watched as Merlin conjured a wind storm He aimed it toward the bandits and they soon started flying all over the place. Many of other bandits then noticed the decrease in numbers on their hand and started to flee, making everybody cheer. Morgana and Merlin then realised that Arthur had killed Kanen, as his body fell to his knees and dropped to the floor- blood covering his chest.

Arthur stormed over to Will, Merlin and Morgana, his face infuriated.

"Who did that?" He yelled, looking between Merlin and Will, not even giving a glance toward Morgana.

"What?" Merlin asked, trying to play the innocent card, though that just made Arthur even angrier.

"Wind like that doesn't just appear from nowhere. I know magic when I see it. One of you made that happen." He exclaimed, looking between the two of them and searching for any signs to show they were guilty. Morgana gulped, _**if Arthur finds out**_.

"Arthur!" She yelled, accusing him of suggesting something absurd. Unnoticed to any of them but one, Kanen wasn't truly dead, he retrieved a bow and arrow and aimed it at Morgana.

"Look out!" Will shouted as he jumped in front of Morgana, shielding her body with his.

"Will!" Merlin shouted as the arrow hit Will's back. Arthur turned around, completely gobsmacked, and watched as Kanen finally died, properly that time. Merlin and Morgana both caught Will before he fell to the floor; his eyes had already turned blood shot.

"You saved my life," Morgana breathed out, still shaken from nearly being killed. She heard Will laugh breathily,

"It was a life worth saving," he replied. Morgana felt tears start to form in her eyes before Will was lifted up by Arthur.

"We need to get him inside."

**\\Merlin/  
**

Arthur hurried into Hunith's home, placing him gently on the table that Morgana had cleared for him.

"I've saved you twice now," Will recalled as he smirked at Morgana. Normally she would have felt mocked and answered back with a retort but she just couldn't. Will was a person who didn't even know her properly and yet he saved her life, multiple times. And yet there she was, sat next to him holding his hand as he slowly started to die. She watched as Will then turned to look at Arthur, who was looking at him sadly with a forlorn expression. "It was me," Will then spoke, coughing as he did. Arthur's lips parted as he listened to what was said. "I'm the one that used magic." Merlin stopped everything he was doing and stared at Will. _**No, no, no, no. How could he **_**do**_** this?!**_

"I think it's best if you don't speak, you're using up you're energy." Morgana suggested, looking at him with a crestfallen expression, feeling guilt as she felt him tighten his grip on her hands in pain.

"Will…" Merlin then interjected, observing his friend as he held back tears.

"It's alright, Merlin. I won't be alive long enough for anyone to do anything to me." His voice was hoarse and difficult to understand but it was still clear to Merlin and Morgana what he was doing- falsely admitting to being a sorcerer on Merlin's behalf. "I did it. I saw how desperate things were becoming and I had to do something."

"You're a sorcerer?" Arthur asked. Will just nodded, not physically being able to speak. Morgana swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Arthur sighed and rubbed at his brow,

"Do what you can for him," he said to Merlin, he walked over to Will and put his hand onto his shoulder, "thank you. You're a true hero." And with that he left the room.

Morgana and Merlin waited to hear the door click before they spoke again.

"Merlin, can't you save him?" She asked as she looked back to Will whose breathing was slowly decreasing.

"I can't, the wound's too deep it'll-"

"What about magic? You used magic to-" Merlin shook his head, now that Arthur had gone he found it harder to prevent any tears falling from his eyelids. A single drop of grief welled up from the corner of his eye and suddenly tear drops came pouring down. He moved to sit next to Will, wiping the oncoming tears.

"I would upset the balance of nature," he only managed to speak. His voice was crackled and nearly inaudible as he sniffed his nose. Morgana's brow creased as she tried to listen to Will, who attempted to speak a few words.

"Merlin. Merlin, I'm scared." His voice was trembling as well as his body. Merlin breathed in slowly, he had to be strong for his friend,

"Don't be. It's going to be all right. You have me," Merlin assured as he held onto his other hand, gripping it tightly and never wanting to let go. Will was his best friend, he couldn't lose him.

"Merlin…" Will voice was nothing but a whisper and then he stopped. His chest no longer raised and lowered and his eyes were empty. Merlin instantly sobbed, crying into his hands as he looked down. Morgana also cried, he had saved her life; she gave him the gratitude and respect he needed and closed his eyelids, letting him rest in peace. Shivers ran down her spine, she had witnessed death, but nothing like this. This was heart-breaking and soul-wrenching.

**\\Merlin/  
**

Everybody stood around the funeral pyre. Many had died that day, many people Merlin knew, including Will. Morgana had been with him every step of the way, helping him collect the wood for the pyre and moving his body gently onto it. They stood, watching the flames of the fire flicker to the sky. Merlin had managed to stop crying but his eyes were swollen with saturated grief with his shoulders slumped under the weight of Death's hand. Morgana stood with him, her head rested on his shoulder as they watched the fire grow.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I know he means a lot to you." Merlin didn't answer but he nodded, his thoughts were elsewhere, recalling many memories of his good friend. He felt a pat to the shoulder.

"I know he was a close friend to you and I'm sorry, Merlin." Arthur spoke to him, his voice sorrowful as he looked at his friend hurt. Merlin breathed in and breathed out shakily,

"He was a good person."

After a few more minutes of watching the fire slowly die out Hunith walked toward Merlin, Arthur and Morgana understood that she probably wanted a private talk with her son and made their way to Gwen who was packing their bags and belongings.

"You better be going," Hunith spoke, attempting to crack a smile from her son.

"I don't have to go," Merlin replied as he looked at everyone around him. So many people had lost people they loved.

"Yes, you do."

"If anything happens to you-"

"I know where to find you." She responded with a knowing smile. "You have to go, Merlin. You belong at Arthur's side. I've seen how much he needs you. How much you need him. You're like two sides of the same coin."

Merlin smiled at that,

"I've heard someone say that about us before," Merlin admitted, remembering Kilgharrah's exact same words.

"And by the looks of it Morgana needs you too," she sly commented, making Merlin look at her in bewilderment. She chuckled,

"You don't think I didn't hear you two outside my own house," she confessed. Merlin's eyes widened, _**crap!**_

"I'm sorry i-"

"No need to apologize, my boy. What's done is done, and Morgana seems to trust you, just make sure no one else knows of your magic. Keep your talents hidden…" Merlin nodded and then smiled.

"I'm going to miss you," he said as he hugged her tightly.

"I'll miss you too."

**\\Merlin/  
**

* * *

**GUYS! DID YOU WATCH LAST EPISODE! ERGDFHFGHFHgddsdfvs. Oh my god, I'm so excited for the finale now! Bring it on! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I REALLY enjoyed writing this one so I hope that is reflected in my writing. I'd really appreciate some feedback because this is the first time I've ever written a death before (I did get a little upset myself, because I liked Will) so yeah. And thanks to everyone adding this to their alerts or favourite's, you're amazing! **


	15. You're never alone

Merlin knocked onto the door timidly with his right hand. His left hand was already occupied holding a bunch of flowers which he managed to pick in his limited time off. It had been a week since he left Ealdor, left his mother and his old friends. He still missed them dearly but knew that his place wasn't in Ealdor, he could only achieve so much there, but here, in Camelot, it was obvious he had a large destiny waiting for him to fulfil.

Morgana had promised him a dinner back in Ealdor, insisted that she should give him a proper thank you for the things he had done. He wanted to protest, she didn't really need to do that, but being the stubborn self she can be sometimes, Morgana allowed him no chance to persuade him of the manner…

Merlin kept his head held low as he waited for someone to answer the door. Morgana had told him to keep this dinner a secret, God knows what would have happened if Arthur or Uther heard of their meeting. Merlin swallowed nervously at the thought, if Uther were to have noticed him now, his head would be on a plate before he could say _sorcery_.

"Merlin," he heard the familiar welcome. He blinked and looked up from the floor. Morgana was stood perched next to the open door with a smile on her face, Merlin nodded and grinned back.

"Hello milad-" he went to greet but remembered what she had told him a few weeks back. '_**Please call me Morgana.' **_ "-Morgana." He corrected making Morgana's smile widen slightly. She moved aside,

"Please, come in." She welcomed, widening the door for him to walk through. Merlin sauntered into the room, his eyebrows shot up as he remembered something. He turned around back to Morgana and revealed the flowers which he hid behind his back.

"These are for you. I didn't really know which ones you liked so I just got different ones," he admitted as he handed them to her with a sheepish smirk. She laughed lightly, taking the flowers off of him and inspecting them with admiration.

"Thank you Merlin." She said as she sniffed them and smiled, "they're beautiful." She moved further into the room, which Merlin took as a sign to follow, and placed the flowers onto her desk which was filled with combs and make up. Merlin's mouth opened slightly as he observed the rest of the room, it seemed Morgana had made an exceptional effort to make the place look stunning. There were a few candles flickering near the window which allowed a pleasant and exotic scent to mask the room and the dining table in the centre of the room was covered in shiny new cutlery that look prepared just for two. "Merlin?" Her voice was light and honeyed, drawing Merlin's attention once again. He turned to her with a puzzled expression and then noticed that she had sat herself down on one of the chairs.

"Oh, right, sorry." He then followed and made himself comfortable on the chair opposite her. "Morgana," he breathed out as he again looked around the room, "you didn't have to do this."

"Nonsense," she dismissed as she grabbed the bottle of wine that was in the middle of the table and began to pour herself a glass, "you probably deserve more than this. You saved my life," she reminded him as she continued to pour him a drink. Merlin didn't reply and instead watched as the red liquor filled his glass. "So," she breathed out as she placed the bottle back down. "Has Arthur got you doing any more of his chores? I heard he had a bit of a bad day yesterday," she proclaimed, raising her eyebrow at Merlin accusingly. Merlin rolled his eyes and leant back on his chair, sighing loudly,

"I've barely had any time free, that prat has been sending me everywhere with him. We're even going hunting tomorrow," he added on grudgingly, much to his distaste. He then grabbed his drink and sipped at it, testing to see whether or not his liked it. The wine was incredible, making him instantly relax as the delicious flavours remained on his taste buds. Morgana noticed his approval and laughed,

"Yes well at least he hasn't got you cleaning out the stables yet," she replied half-heartedly with a smile. Merlin instantly frowned,

"Don't give him any ideas," he warned jokingly before taking another gulp of the wine. He revelled in the pleasant taste of the wine and placed his glass down once more before he looked up to Morgana with a grin. Morgana watched him with curiosity as he pulled out his hands from under the table and placed them around the cup. "_Troneane_." He barely whispered. Morgana watched as his eyes glowed and his glass magically refilled itself, Morgana looked on astonished.

"What other spells can you do?" She asked, very eager to see more, before she set her own glass down. "Just how powerful are you?" Merlin smirked at the last question,

"Powerful enough," he admitted rather quietly, not wanting to admit the truth- as it was said he was the most powerful warlock to ever have been born. "Here," he gestured, looking toward the flowers Morgana had placed on her desk. "_Onstyrian, onbregdan_." One of the flowers then floated up according to Merlin's hand motions. He then moved his hand and pointed to Morgana, allowing the flower to gently be placed behind her ear. She laughed out loud and stared back at him in awe.

"What's it like…To have magic?" Merlin bit into his inner cheek, _**if only she knew**_.

"It's…" He hesitated at first, what was it like? He's never been in the situation where he hasn't got magic- _**well, it's not like anyone could get rid of my magic anyway. **_"Umm, well when I say a spell, I have this.. Um, burst of energy, it's hard to explain." His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to think of a better way to explain it. "Sometimes things happen when I don't want them to, when I was little, my mom had to make sure I'd never get angry or really upset because anything could happen." Morgana listened intently, leaning on her elbows as she listened to him confess.

"Do you know anyone else with magic?" She asked hopeful, she'd hate it for Merlin to be by himself. He shook his head disappointedly,

"Only sorcerers who have used magic to their advantage," he replied rather sadly, he shook his head again, "I could never do that, magic is a gift, something only certain people have and yet-"

"-they go around using it for the wrong reasons." Morgana finished in understanding. She smiled to herself softy, she could never imagine Merlin doing such things, he was moral, used his powers for the greater good.

"Sometimes it can get lonely," he admitted while looking down and fiddling with the bottom of his glass. "To have to hide like a shadow and for people to never truly know of who you are…" His voice was low and guttural. _**To have to lie to your best friends every day, or for people to think you're a fool when really…**_ He was too preoccupied in his own thoughts to realise Morgana had moved her chair closer toward him. She watched him in sorrow,

"You're never alone Merlin," she told him, making him blink and return back to reality. "I know what it's like, when my father died," her voice faltered slightly, "I was only a child. I locked myself in my room for days before coming out, I felt so alone."

Merlin scanned her face, watching as her facial expressions faded slightly into one of sorrow. He never stopped to think about how she felt either; she'd lost her mother _and_ father. _**How could I be so stupid?**_ Maybe that was another reason why they both got along so well, they could relate and understand each other more than anyone else could. Merlin sighed, the dinner was meant to be for laughs and joy, not for brooding and sadness. He closed his own hands over Morgana's, making her look up at him questioningly.

"No you're right Morgana. Camelot's not the place for loneliness," he attempted to lighten the mood, "and besides, I don't think Arthur would let me escape even if I tried." Morgana laughed at that.

They then continued to talk about Camelot and its people. They talked of how they both noticed something was going on between Gwen and Arthur and when Morgana had told Uther his hair was turning grey and even how they both realised Arthur now looked in the mirror seven times before he entered the hall. By the end of their conversation Morgana was in tears, having to hold onto her side where it ached from her on going laughter. Merlin continued to tell another story,

"And then he denied it and threw the plate across the room," Merlin just about managed to finish as he too was in stitches. Morgana wiped away at the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. After a few minutes, their laughter soon died down. All the wine had been drunk and the candles had gone. Merlin looked out the window and noticed it was now dark. He stood up from his chair slowly and smiled to Morgana, "I think I'd best get going now," he admitted with a smile, though he wished he could have stayed longer. "I'm going to guess that Arthur will want all his armour polished for tomorrows hunt." Morgana nodded in understanding.

"Of course," she replied and got up from her chair as well. They both walked to the door with smiles on their faces. Merlin stopped before leaving,

"Thank you Morgana," he thanked politely with an earnest smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." Morgana grinned,

"Good night Merlin," she muttered as she hung by the door, watching as he left.

**\\Merlin/  
**

Merlin kicked at the floor as he guided a horse into the yard of the castle. They had just returned from the hunting trip and Merlin felt on edge. During their hunt they found a unicorn, an animal Merlin thought too beautiful to kill, unlike Arthur. Merlin was too late when the arrow hit the unicorn in the side of its stomach; it fell to the floor and Merlin's stomach twisted. Arthur had teased him and called him a girl but Merlin knew something was wrong. He could have sworn he saw a man, not just any man though, this man looked old and he carried a staff. Even though Merlin saw the man briefly he could tell he had magic, he could sense it. But as soon as Arthur turned to see what Merlin was staring at the man had vanished- leaving Merlin on edge and agitated all the way home. _**Who was that man? **_ He sighed frustratingly, whoever he was, he certainly didn't look happy.

There wasn't anything he could have done at that moment in time and decided to guide his horse back into the stable. As he did he heard his name being called behind him,

"Merlin." The voice was concerned and anxious as the person walked up to him.

"Morgana," he acknowledged as he continued to walk with his horse. Morgana noticed his agitated self and more so guessed that something happened while on the hunting trip.

"What did Arthur do?" She asked, assuming that the dunce had done something to upset Merlin. She watched him with furrowed eyebrows as they reached the stables, she didn't care less if she was not welcome here due to her being royalty, she wanted to know what was going on. Merlin took the reins off the horse and then leant against a fence.

"He killed a unicorn," he admitted as he fed the horse a carrot unconsciously. Morgana's jaw dropped open. _**A unicorn?! In Camelot?**_ She couldn't believe it. And Arthur, being the idiot he is, decided to kill it. She felt a rush of annoyance rush through her body. "There was also a man," Merlin then added on as he noticed her displeasure also. Morgana looked up confused.

"A man?" Merlin nodded.

"He was old and carried a staff, I think he was a sorcerer but I'm not sure…" He rubbed at his eye tiredly.

"Did he look harmful?" She asked, trying to get every detail she could. Merlin licked his lips before answering.

"I'm not sure. I only saw him after the unicorn died."

"Maybe it was his?" Morgana assumed. It was a good enough reason to be upset. Merlin shook his head,

"Then why would he let it lose in a place where bandits.. Or _Arthur_ could get to it? Unicorns are creatures of magic, if Uther were to have seen him with it in his possession he would have had him hanged." Merlin acknowledged, his voice deflated. Morgana hmm'd in defeat.

"_Merlin_!" A yell from Arthur was heard outside of the stables. Merlin's shoulders faltered and he sighed,

"I'll talk to you later," he said and then ran off to find Arthur.

**\\Merlin/  
**

_**So this is what he called me for. **_Merlin acknowledged in annoyance as he was given the unicorn's horn on a well decorated pillow- apparently Arthur wanted to show off his little _prize_. Merlin took it without a word and followed Arthur up the steps toward the hall. Arthur smiled at him with a thumbs up before he entered the hall; it seemed they had interrupted a meeting with Uther, his second in command and Gaius.

"I apologise for the interruption," Arthur called out. Merlin scoffed, _**yeah right.**_ "But a unicorn's horn has graced the walls of Camelot," he then turned to Merlin and gave him _the look_. Merlin presented the horn with false enthusiasm and a smile. Uther's eyes widened as he walked to the prize in astonishment.

"Magnificent. It's the first one I've seen," Uther recalled as he picked it up delicately and shone it into the light, watching as it reflected beautiful shades of silver and white across the hall. He turned to Gaius, "Gaius, look at this." He said as he continued to inspect the fine jewel in his possession. Merlin then glanced a look Gaius' way and noticed he too didn't seem pleased of Arthur's hunt.

"It is very impressive, My Lord." Gaius said rather flatly, his facial expressions non amused and certainly not as happy as Arthur and Uther's. Before Uther could have turned around to question Gaius' disinterest, Morgana opened the large entrance doors.

"My Lord," she started as she marched into the hall, she had wanted to talk to him about serious business, many of the townsfolk had been robbed earlier that morning. Yet her furrowed eyebrows knit together when she observed the horn in Uther's hands. Her jaw clenched as she looked back up at Uther and Arthur. She wanted nothing more than to swipe their smug grins away from them. "What is that?" She said, looking at the horn. Uther smiled and motioned for her to come over and inspect the horn personally. It was then Morgana noticed that Merlin was in the room. Both him and Gaius were the only ones Morgana noticed in the room who seemed displeased of their find.

"Morgana, feast your eyes on the very first unicorn's horn. It is a magnificent hunt, well done Arthur." He congratulated while patting his son on the back. Arthur smirked; he loved to please his father most the time. Morgana frowned.

"And a death of an innocent creature calls for celebration?" Morgana recalled, watching Uther with distaste. Uther looked back at Morgana, quite taken back by her comment but soon glowered.

"Unicorns are nothing but sorcery. They are made of magic and are therefore a threat to the kingdom. So mind your tongue." Morgana went to speak again but noticed the warning glares from both Merlin and Gaius. She closed his mouth and said nothing, even if she did, Uther would not have apologised- in fact, he would have sent her to the dungeons. Merlin relaxed when Uther turned away and dismissed Morgana, if he would have hurt her… "Gaius, what is it?" Uther then asked, his tone changed from the venomous tone he had spoken moments before to a calm and placid tone. _**How does he do that? **_Uther then stepped closer to Gaius with a curious expression. "Speak your mind."

"Unicorns are rare and mystical creatures," Gaius started, repeating information they all knew. "There is, however, a legend that says bad fortune will come to anyone who slays one." Merlin instantly turned to Morgana, who automatically looked back at him worriedly.

"Nonsense. We will be the envy of every kingdom," Uther exclaimed as he handed the horn back to Merlin and began to walk out of the hall with his arms around Arthur's shoulder.

**\\Merlin/**

Merlin and Gaius slowly walked down the stairs that led to the square.

"I don't understand how Arthur can take any pleasure from killing the unicorn," Merlin admitted, his voice doubtful and even disappointed. Gaius noticed Merlin's discomfort and sighed.

"Arthur is a hunter. It's in his blood. Whereas you are something entirely different," Gaius explained as he gave a few nods to people he recognised on the yard. He waited for Merlin to reply but was confronted with silence; he turned around to see if Merlin was even listening to him and noticed he was stood a few yards away doing nothing- just watching someone. Gaius walked over and followed his gaze, his eyebrow rose as he noticed who Merlin was looking at. "_Merlin_," he warned, clicking his fingers in front of his face. Merlin blinked and shook his head slightly, turning to see a displeased Gaius. "That is the Lady Morgana," Gaius confirmed as he pointed at the person Merlin was watching. "You're here to-"

"-work," Merlin finished instinctively with a sly grin. He remembered this conversation from not long back. Gaius sighed,

"Yes well, at least I know you do listen _sometimes_," he then grabbed Merlin by the shirt as he noticed Merlin was still staring at her. "Merlin, my boy, are you in need of my magnifying glass?" He asked sarcastically, making Merlin blush.

"No, I just- Umm," Merlin creased his brow; he needed to talk to her, that was why he was staring at her. "That unicorn," Merlin then decided to change the subject. "It was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. I wish you'd been there." He admitted as they made their way to the front entrance door leading to their chambers. Gaius chuckled to himself.

**\\Merlin/**

"_Mer_lin," Arthur called his name for what seemed the millionth time that morning. _**Do this Merlin, do that Merlin, clean this Merlin. **_Merlin rolled his eyes and jogged over to Arthur's side. He looked around with a confused expression, _**what am I supposed to be looking at? **_ He then watched as Arthur bent down, "do you know what _that_ is?" Merlin's brow then creased together as he bent down beside Arthur.

"No," Merlin replied, still not seeing what he was supposed to look at. Arthur sighed frustratingly and shoved his head toward the floor.

"_Rat droppings_," Arthur finally exclaimed exasperated. "My chambers are infested. You need to spend less time worrying about unicorns and more time worrying about rats." Before Merlin could respond with something that would probably earn him a slap, someone knocked the door. "Enter!" Arthur called over his shoulder. A guard, who seemed out of breath from the run to Arthur's chambers, entered the room with a bow.

"My Lord, The King requests your service as a matter of urgency." Arthur rubbed at his brow and then nodded at the guard.

"I'll be there shortly," he replied and with that the guard ran off. Arthur then turned back around to Merlin, "find that rat." Arthur then stormed out of the room, aggravated by his manservant. Merlin sighed and fell back into the wall, completely exhausted. It was only morning and Arthur had completely drained him of any energy. He breathed in heavily and noticed the rat droppings that were on the floor.

"Right," he muttered to himself as he inspected the room with squinted eyes. Before he began his search for the rat another soft knock was heard on the door. Merlin twirled around the room; it was just him here right? He scratched at his head, **_should I answer it?_** "Um, enter?" The door slowly opened and Gwen's head popped around the side. Merlin smiled and waved to her cheerily.

"Merlin," she greeted before entering the room. "I thought I'd find you here," she admitted as she closed the door behind her. Her smile then turned to a frown as she realised Arthur's absence. "Are you not out helping Arthur?" Her question was light hearted and curious, Merlin couldn't help but smile at Gwen. She had this quirky, charismatic charm that always made him grin. Merlin nodded,

"The King's ordered for his service, so I stayed here," he then started to look around the room again. "Apparently the room has a pet rat." Gwen grimaced and looked around the room herself, she'd be damned if the rat decided to nibble on her dress.

"I'll help you look if you like?" She offered nicely as she moved to open the cupboard at the end of the room. Merlin didn't argue and instead they looked around the room together,

"Aren't you meant to be helping the Lady Morgana?" He asked as he remembered that Gwen was also a servant. _**Duh! **_

"My Lady gave me the morning off actually," Gwen admitted as she stopped to look at Merlin. Merlin stopped searching for the rat and turned to Gwen with a questioning gaze.

"Is she okay?" Merlin asked concerned. Gwen pursed her lips and frowned slightly,

"She was fine when I left her to sleep last night, but this morning she seems a little…" She tried to think of the right word, "Off."

"Off?" Merlin asked, still a bit confused.

"Normally I would wake her up in the morning and give her her breakfast that I had already prepared. But when I walked into her room she was already awake and she was staring out of her window," Merlin's brow creased as he listened to her story, "when I asked her if she was alright, she didn't reply. Eventually she told me that I could have the morning off, which led me here."

"Maybe she's not feeling well?" Merlin suggested, but Gwen shook her head. "Maybe you should take her shopping or something… I saw her walking yesterday morning; perhaps she just wants a day out." Merlin explained, though Gwen didn't seem convinced, and neither did Merlin himself either to be honest. He figured it was probably about the unicorn but he couldn't say that in front of Gwen. Merlin then looked to Gwen with a smile, "If she won't talk to you, then perhaps she'll talk with me?" Merlin suggested hopeful. Gwen then beamed,

"Shall I tell her to meet you later?" She asked, her normal enthusiasm returned.

"Yeah, I'll be in Gaius' chambers most of today after I've found this rat anyway, so tell her to meet me." Gwen smiled and hugged Merlin before leaving the room. Merlin frowned once she was gone. _**Great, now I'm alone again.**_

**\\Merlin/**

Later that day Merlin found himself doing Gaius' chores, or _chore_- to be more precise. Gaius had simply asked him to clean up their chambers after he'd finished with Arthur's chores. Merlin didn't argue, the job was easy enough, it beat going out in the rain and finding a specific flower that had to be a specific colour _and_ smell. Merlin shuddered at the memory. He had finished with the books near the stairs and decided to move toward the potions that were scattered across the tables and desks. Merlin sighed; there were thousands of potions just sprawled across the place. _**Well, at least they're labelled. **_He started to pick up random bottles and placed them in places he thought appropriate. _**Or just colour order. **_Merlin laughed at his own silliness. Merlin picked up a specific potion that drew his attention. He picked the bottle up and read the label. _**Hemlock? Isn't that deadly poison?**_ _**Why on Earth would someone want to use that? **_

The door to the chambers then opened and Morgana peeked her head through the gap.

"Morgana," Merlin greeted as he placed the hemlock onto the end of the desk- as the potion was black, so it was at the end of the colour spectrum.

"Merlin," Morgana greeted back with a smile. "Gwen said you wanted to see me?" She asked as she entered the room properly to speak with Merlin. Merlin nodded his head and offered her a seat on the stool opposite his own. Morgana nodded and joined him on the table.

"Gwen said you seemed a little off this morning, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he admitted with no sign of embarrassment across his face, surprising Morgana slightly- _**perhaps he is genuinely concerned? **_

Morgana licked her lips before answering,

"Last night, after Gwen left, I saw a man. He was in my chambers and then he wasn't," Morgana frowned as she tried to recall more of her memory. "He just vanished. He carried a staff and was old, so I thought it was the same man you saw but why would he be in my chambers? What have I done?" She asked nervously, looking up to Merlin for answers. Merlin's brow puckered, if Morgana was telling the truth, which he had no doubt she was, then that meant it was a high possibility he was the one who destroyed the crops earlier that morning.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Morgana." He disclosed, not wanting to make her fret over something that may not be troubling. Morgana smiled at his comforting and nodded.

"He's the one destroying the crops, isn't he?" It wasn't really a question. Merlin knew Morgana wasn't unintelligent and thought better of it than to lie to her.

"Yeah, I think so." Straight after Merlin had spoken the chambers doors opened once more.

"_Merlin_-" Gaius called as he waltzed into the room holding his medicine pack. Gaius then noticed Morgana and Merlin sat at the table together, "Oh," he said rather surprised. He turned to Morgana and bowed his head, "my lady." He greeted before walking into the room and placing his bag across the bannister of the stairs. Merlin rolled his eyes,

"I just cleaned that," Merlin said displeased. Gaius told him to clean the room just for him to then enter the room himself and make it unclean again.

"Yes, I can see…" Gaius spoke rather sardonically as he continued to look between Merlin and Morgana. "If you don't mind, I'm here to complete some tests." He offered as he made his way to his desk. Morgana smiled and stood from her chair,

"It's getting late now; I think I'll return to my chambers. Good night Gaius, Merlin." She said farewell before leaving the door with a hidden smile.

"Milady," Merlin offered with a smile.

"Milady," Gaius also said before Morgana shut the door behind her. The room then turned quiet with Morgana's absence. Merlin could tell Gaius was edging to ask why she was here but was restricting himself for Merlin to tell him himself, though Merlin never did. Gaius sighed as he continued to work on his experiment, "I'm starting to feel that there's something you're not telling me." Gaius confessed as he stopped what he was doing to look at Merlin. Merlin looked down to his hands that were placed on the table. "Merlin…" Gaius repeated his name warningly with his traditional arched eyebrows.

"Morgana knows my secret," he confessed, earning a shocked expression from Gaius.

"_Merlin_," he gasped out as he made his way to the chair Morgana sat on not long ago. "You must not have told her."

"I didn't have a choice Gaius," Merlin admitted sadly before he looked up at his mentor, guilt written all over his face. "Will had already hinted at my powers and…" Merlin didn't have to say any more for Gaius to understand. Gaius shook his head and breathed out loudly,

"Merlin, you have to be careful, if she were to speak of your powers to-"

"She won't," Merlin stated simply as he looked at Gaius with an assured stare.

"I trust you Merlin, but I'm afraid that I can't trust Morgana," Gaius' voice then lowered. "We both know of Morgana's powers. If she were to find out about them herself then-"

"Then she wouldn't feel as alone," Merlin added sympathetically as he remembered his and Morgana's conversation a few days ago. _You're never alone, Merlin._ Gaius hummed,

"Yes, as much as I'd love to say you telling her of your powers was a good thing, I can't help but think of the repercussions caused by your decision." Merlin didn't have a reply and instead looked down at the table and thought about what could happen. Would Morgana really reveal his powers to others? _**No, she would never. Morgana's my friend.**_ Merlin heard Gaius get up from his chair as he moved to desk again, to continue working on his experiment.

"What of the fields?" Merlin asked, trying to return to another important subject.

"No disease I have heard of could spread through the entire kingdom in a single night," Gaius replied honestly as he dropped a piece of grain into a glass and began to boil it.

"It's only killing plants we can eat," Merlin acknowledged. "If it's not a disease, it must be magic," Merlin admitted as he sighed and placed his face into his hands. _**Could this day get any more stressful? **_

**\\Merlin/  
**

* * *

**Thank you guys SO much for the amazing and lovely reviews last chapter. It was my most reviewed chapter so far and all the comments were just so positive and made me jump for joy. I realised that I may have replied to some of your reviews saying that the next chapter would be around the episode 'To Kill The King' however I thought I'd add this episode in because I personally didn't like it. So, it was more so a burning challenge of mine to make the episode more… Interesting? As Morgana was barely even in the episode. So I hope you do enjoy it. And what did you guys think of the episode yesterday? The Mergana scene was so short, I felt like dying inside. Thank guys for your support. I love you! **


	16. A message for who?

Morgana's cloak floated behind her as she walked down the dirty, unkempt parts of Camelot's villages. She and Gwen carried multiple bags of grain around their shoulders, from which they had secretly collected from the castle, for the starving townsfolk. Morgana knew the stakes at which she confidently trudged on, for if Uther were to find out she was giving away her _own_ grain he would have been fuming- to say the very least- but Morgana wasn't frightened. She felt thrilled, almost heroic, at seeing the large and generous smiles the men, women and children would reveal when given the collective amounts of grain.

"My Lady," Gwen muttered, keeping her voice quiet for the sake of any guards hearing her, though Morgana was too busy giving a young scruffy boy the last of her grain to have heard her. Gwen was too mesmerised by the admirable little scene to have spoken another word, almost as if the words had flown straight out of her mouth. Gwen wouldn't have lied if she said she was concerned that Morgana was risking a_ hell of a lot_ by giving away her own food, but that didn't stop her from saying yes to Morgana's request to help her. Gwen knew that people would have died if they weren't given any food and Morgana made it perfectly clear just how much she wanted to help, so she went along with it.

Gwen then watched as the young boy hugged Morgana and ran off with a wide smile. Morgana turned around to look at Gwen.

"That's all the grain gone," she realised, turning her bag upside down to prove her point. Gwen nodded.

"We've done what we can here, Morgana. You've done more than enough," Gwen tried to encourage her friend, giving her an appreciative smile that she knew Morgana had gotten used to while working with her for many years. Morgana nodded in agreement and sighed.

"We best make our way to the castle," Morgana acknowledged before walking out of the alleyway, as that was where she found the young boy, and hid her face with her cloak. The last thing she needed was to be attacked by desperate thugs who had their eyes on a royal. Gwen followed straight after.

As Morgana and Gwen walked toward the castle drawbridge, Gwen slowed down and picked up a bucket that was beside the water pump. Morgana noticed and stopped to go back and wait for her friend.

"I'll get some water for your bath later, my lady." Gwen said making Morgana smile as a thank you. As Gwen pulled the metal pole up she noticed Merlin walking there way with an unhappy expression.

"Merlin," Gwen yelled over and waved her hand for him to come over. Morgana then looked past Gwen's shoulder and watched as the blue scarf around Merlin's neck bobbed up and down as he jogged up to them with a smile placed on his face from seeing his two friends. He breathed in heavily and nodded to them both. "Is it true what they're saying about the crops? They're all dead?" Gwen asked curiously, hoping the answer she thought would be incorrect.

"Afraid so," he replied flatly as he raised his hand, blocking the light from the sun which threatened to blind him. "We may have to start tightening our belts," he recommended with a slight despondent expression.

"I'm sure Arthur will think of something," Gwen guaranteed with a smile. Morgana's left eyebrow rose as she gave a hidden smirk to Merlin. He pursued his lips from smirking himself and decided to cough and hide his knowing grin.

"_Well_…" Morgana added while rolling her eyes jokingly. Merlin laughed and waved at them both lazily as he began walking backwards.

"And if he doesn't, I will." Merlin assured and then he turned past the wall. Morgana's smile slowly faltered when he'd gone. She sighed and turned to look back at Gwen who was too busy pushing at the pump vigorously. Morgana frowned, confused at why nothing was coming out the pump, until before her and Gwen's eyes sand filled Gwen's bucket. Gwen glanced up at Morgana worriedly and Morgana's eye widened. She looked around desperately to find someone to tell.

"Merlin," she whispered to herself before she picked up her dress and ran to where Merlin had wandered off to. She noticed the familiar raven coloured hair and the blue neck scarf. "Merlin!" She yelled, making him turn around erratically. He didn't need to be told to come over as he was already sprinting over toward Morgana when he noticed her troubled expression. He ran up to her and looked her over to see if she had been hurt but Morgana shook her head and pointed to the pump that was pouring sand. As soon as Merlin laid eyes on the sand he breathed out heavily and his shoulder's tensed. He continued to watch as Gwen pushed at the pump desperate for any signs of water. Merlin bit into his lips before he turned to Morgana.

"We're going to have to tell the King," he stated, his voice low, trying not to grab people's attention. Morgana nodded,

"I'll tell him." Morgana replied, she then looked around to see if anybody was watching before whispering in his ear, "it's that sorcerer again, isn't it? We have to stop him Merlin." Merlin's jaw clenched as he watched Morgana stare down at the floor with a frown. Merlin nodded once more and looked into space as he attempted to come up with a plan.

"Meet me in my chambers as soon as you've told the King," he replied back before patting her on the arm and running over to help Gwen turn the pump off, as the sand must have stopped the brake of the pump.

**\\Merlin/  
**

After Morgana had told Uther of the pump problem she made her way to Merlin's chambers like Merlin had asked her to. She opened his chamber door without knocking and peered into the room, looking around to expect Merlin sat at the table or waiting in the room. She frowned when she noticed nobody was in.

"Hello?" She called out, her eyebrows knitted together, as she made her way into the room. _**Merlin did say to meet me here, right?**_

"In here," she heard someone yell, making her jump slightly. She heard a door creak behind her and a familiar face smile through the crack of it. She smiled back and made her way up the stairs into Merlin's bedroom. She observed the room; it was a lot cleaner than his bedroom back in Ealdor. She noticed the many books that were sprawled across the room, all open on random pages, with Merlin at the very centre, concentrating on a certain book. It was then that she noticed the writings on all of the pages.

"What writing is this?" She asked after she closed the door and crouched down to pick up a book. Merlin blinked and looked up from the book he was engrossed in; he jumped up from his sitting position and glanced over Morgana's shoulder. He scratched at his head.

"It's um, the language of the old religion." He informed her with a weak smile. Morgana's eyes widened, she couldn't understand the writing but she looked at it in admiration anyhow. The writing formed and linked together so naturally across the page, making it a pleasant read, even if she didn't know what it read.

"A book of magic," she confirmed then turned to Merlin, "but I thought they were all destroyed since the great purge?" She asked curiously as her left eyebrow raised accusingly. Merlin smiled sheepishly.

"They were gifts from Gaius," he replied as he moved to sit back down to where he was reading his book. Morgana joined him, adjusting her dress before she sat down beside him and watched as he traced his finger over the words when reading his book. Realising the bucket of sand placed beside him, Morgana finally acknowledged what Merlin was doing. She shuffled closer to his side so as she could pretend to read the book.

"You're trying to change the sand to water aren't you?" She stated as she turned to the bucket with a frown. Merlin nodded and then tapped his index finger onto the book.

"This spell might work," his voice was enthusiastic as he raised his hand toward the bucket. He looked back at the book and attempted to say the spell. "_Gréot gecymen, lecan. Gecymen gé drýe wæter._" Morgana smiled at his use of magic; even now she still couldn't believe he was a sorcerer. They both moved their heads to peek over the bucket, hoping to see even a hint of water. Their expectant expressions soon faltered as they witnessed the same sand filled bucket. Merlin sighed and fell lazily onto his back with both his hands covering his mouth, similar to a prayers position, in thought. Morgana continued to look at the bucket and frowned. There had to be a way.

She noticed Merlin laid on the floor in thought and so decided to grab the book Merlin was reading and take a detailed look at it herself. She tried her hardest to interpret what some of the words translated into.

"What about this one?" She asked as she moved the book from her lap in front of Merlin, tapping the words. Morgana didn't really know whether the spell would work or not, the reason the words stood out to her was because of the water symbol that was drawn next to the foreign words. _**Worth a go. **_

Merlin leaned up onto his elbow as he recited the words.

"Trubén wæter, soén," Merlin attempted to say the spell as he read it over and over, to make sure the pronunciation was correct. As soon as he was happy with his enunciation he rolled over and lifted himself up to face the bucket again. He watched the bucket with a challenging glare. "Trubén wæter, soén." He had spoken clearly in a determined tone. But there was no change. Morgana and Merlin instantly turned around when they heard the door creak behind them. Merlin's heart raced, expecting to see Arthur, or even Uther, but he soon breathed out shakily when it turned out to be only Gaius. Morgana glanced to Merlin with her mouth agape, making Merlin frown._** Oh, right she doesn't know I told him.**_ He realised, making him grab Morgana's hand reassuringly.

"It's fine, Morgana. I told him. He knows that you know," Merlin admitted, watching as Morgana's worried look soon disappeared. She turned to Gaius with a sheepish smile and he nodded back to her slowly as he clamped his hands together.

"Yes, I'm aware you're-" Gaius then turned to Merlin and raised that characteristic eyebrow of his, "-fully aware of Merlin's abilities," Morgana then smiled at Merlin. "But, I must warn you, Morgana." He then added, his tone more severe and serious, making the hairs stand on end along Morgana's back. "Nobody can know of his powers. Not anybody."

Morgana smiled in an affectedly coquettish and coy manner.

"It's our secret," she guaranteed confidently. Merlin chuckled to himself as he remembered when Morgana said nearly the exact same thing back when she thought he fancied Gwen. Oh how the time had flown.

"Yes," Gaius added, his tone lighter than before. He then observed the state of the room and Merlin gulped.

"I was, um..." Merlin then pointed his finger between both him and Morgana. "We were.. Er-" Gaius then shook his head at Merlin, he must have thought Gaius a fool. Gaius walked toward them and pointed to the bucket.

"I was hoping you might be trying to turn it back into water," he replied, moving past Morgana to sit on the bed, his bones too old to bend over and sit on the floor next to them. Merlin turned to Morgana with a surprised expression. Gaius then placed his arms on his knees and leant over to talk to them. "I know I've cautioned against using magic, but if ever there was a time to use your talents, it's now." Gaius expressed, patting Merlin on the shoulder. Morgana smiled at them both, she had known Gaius nearly all her life, he was as much of a father figure to her than what Uther was, and yet, when she watched the connection between Merlin and Gaius she could help but admire the loving relationship between them. They were like father and son.

"Well, I wish I knew how." Merlin expressed, dejected by the uselessness of his powers, making Morgana frown. "I've tried everything. If it is magic, it's more powerful magic than I possess."

"Well, whatever it is, we had better hurry. Crops and water are sparse and Uther has declared that the Kingdom is under attack." Gaius stated unhappily as he stood up to move toward the door. Merlin nodded and sighed. Gaius left the room, leaving Morgana and Merlin alone once more. Neither said anything for a few moments before Morgana decided to break the silence. As she stood up from the floor, she uncreased her dress and looked down at Merlin.

"We can try later if you wish," she proposed as she picked up her cloak from the coat hook which she placed it on earlier. Merlin hummed in response, still watching the bucket of sand with distaste. He breathed in and turned to look at Morgana.

"I've still got some chores to do for Arthur-" he said while rolling his eyes "-but I can meet you afterwards," he added, his tone light and keen.

"You can meet me in my chambers, I'll make sure nobody else is there but us," she assured before waiting next to the door to leave. Merlin licked his lips and grinned,

"I'll see you later then, milady."

**\\Merlin/  
**

Morgana sat at her dining table, waiting for Merlin to appear through the door. It was later at night and the darkness had slowly covered the castle. Only the little candles enlightened Morgana's chambers as she tapped onto the table. She hated waiting- always had, even as a child. She dismissed Gwen earlier, allowing her to finish work early and go home, though much to Gwen's disfavour. That led for Morgana to be left alone and wait for her special- undeniably amazing, might she add- friend Merlin.

After what seemed a decade's worth of time, Morgana sighed and ambled her way to _her_ window- deciding that if she were to wait, she would at least entertain herself with the beautiful view of Camelot during a starry night. She flicked off her shoes, letting them land softly to the floor, as she sat across the large window sill with her back leant against the wall, as she gazed at the stars. It was then that she noticed movement in the court. She frowned and opened the window slightly to see the person clearer and then spotted the all too familiar blonde headed Arthur Pendragon.

"_Mer_lin," she heard Arthur exclaim, as per usual. "You do realise there's a curfew?" She heard him speak sardonically as he jogged up to Merlin, who Morgana wouldn't have spotted if it weren't for Arthur. She watched as Merlin hung his head low and turned to Arthur. _**Of course**_, Morgana thought to herself as she remembered Merlin only telling her hours before about the new curfew. Now she had gotten Merlin into trouble- she promised herself to make an excuse for Merlin being out at late hours tomorrow. _**I'll just say he was giving me my sleeping draught**_. Morgana continued to listen to Arthur and Merlin's conversation, something about a rat, which Morgana had no idea about. As they both continued with their banter, Morgana noticed something in the corner of her eye. _The sorcerer_. Her eyes widened as she watched the old man walk down the corridor, oblivious to Arthur and Merlin. She snatched her shoes from the floor and ran out of her chambers in the direction of the sorcerer.

**\\Merlin/  
**

"They do say rats are very intelligent," Merlin argued, jokingly before smirking as he knew he was annoying Arthur. Arthur frowned and flicked him in the ear, making Merlin yelp.

"More intelligent than you, it would seem." Arthur remarked scornfully, smirking at himself for making Merlin squeal like a girl. Arthur sighed as Merlin pathetically rubbed at his ear, "go home. It'd be embarrassing to have to lock up my own servant for breaking the curfew," he admitted with a roll of his eyes. But before he and Merlin would have walked separate ways, Arthur spotted a cloaked figure hidden in the shadows. He tapped Merlin in the chest, grabbing his attention. "What was that?" Merlin turned around on the spot, looking around the courtyard. Arthur then sighed and grabbed Merlin by the shirt as they both began to run. Merlin didn't know specifically what they were chasing but he observed the worried look in Arthur's eyes and trusted him enough to know it wasn't for nothing.

They jumped over the corridor ledge, Merlin was happy that he achieved the jump so swiftly, and continued to run down some stairs. It was then that Merlin understood who they were chasing. It was the sorcerer. Merlin leaped down the last of the stairs and accidentally bumped into Arthur's back. Arthur looked at him in disbelief and shook his head, Merlin half expected to hear an insult along the lines of 'you idiot' but noticed Arthur had shushed him instead as he saw the old man again at the end of the corridor. Arthur then motioned for Merlin to duck and signalled for them to split and trap the old man. Merlin nodded, seeming to understand, so Arthur continued his way only for Merlin to follow him. Arthur sighed, aggravated.

"That means you go the other way and cut him off," Arthur whispered harshly before continuing to walk his way.

"Okay," Merlin whispered, mostly to himself as he slowly crept up the opposite corridor.

As Merlin stuck to the shadows, he couldn't help but notice how nervous he actually was. The sorcerer could have been dangerous and with Arthur on his own… Merlin hastened his pace at the thought. At the sound of a door creaking open, Merlin froze. As his breathing decreased, Merlin gulped, which to him sounded as loud as _yelling_ the sorcerer's name. He backed up against the wall, hoping the darkness of the shadows would hide him, and crouched down. He searched around and saw no one. After deciding to slowly make his way to the end of the dark corridor, Merlin tried to listen for any signs of Arthur. But there was none… _**Great**_.

As he reached the end of the corridor, he sighed in relief and relaxed just a tiny bit. Tiny, dark, enclosed corridors weren't necessarily his forte and he was glad to be out of it.

"Merlin?" Someone whispered behind him, making him jump a mile. He turned around, frightened to death, and sighed heavily when he noticed it was only Morgana. He clutched at his chest, his heart still threatening to jump out right then and there. Morgana in response frowned and swiftly made her way down the last few stairs, holding his shoulder comfortingly.

"I thought you were someone else," he admitted between his deep breaths. Morgana tightened her grasp on his shoulder.

"The sorcerer," Morgana acknowledged, before looking up and checking their surroundings. Merlin simply nodded, too busy concentrating on his own breathing to reply.

"_Morgana?_" They both heard Arthur whisper austerely from across the other corridor. He jogged up to them and noticed Merlin bet over, breathing heavily. He looked at Morgana and pointed at Merlin. Morgana shook her head with the roll of her eyes, which Arthur had learnt- from years of experience- that she couldn't be bothered to recap him of what happened. Arthur frowned at Merlin and then turned to Morgana, which showed even more frown lines appearing across his forehead. "_Morgana_," he repeated again, remembering the danger they could be in. "You need to leave the-"

"I'm not leaving," Morgana interrupted him, looking at him challengingly, much like the time they were in the catacombs facing that horrid creature called the Afanc. "I saw the man through my window and-" Arthur's eye widened as he listened to Morgana and he shook his head angrily.

"So you decided to come down here on your own? Morgana-"

"Are you looking for me?" Both Morgana and Arthur were cut off when the sorcerer, the one in which they were searching, stood before them, a large white cloak around him and a staff in one hand. Merlin then looked up from the floor, his expression shocked and alerted. Arthur and Morgana, who were a bit shocked by the surprising interruption of what seemed to be an upcoming argument, watched as the old man then stepped forward, closer toward them. To which Arthur responded by raising his hand in front of Morgana and Merlin, blocking them both from minimal harm, even though the sorcerer looked like he had no intention to fight. "I am Anhora," he announced, his voice hoarse. "Keeper of the Unicorns." Merlin and Morgana then looked to each other nervously. Arthur then stepped forward.

"Camelot is under curfew. What's your business here?" He asked, his voice unshaken and confident, though Anhora did not seem frightened by his forceful tone.

"I have come to deliver a message," he replied and Arthur raised his eyebrows, motioning for him to continue. "It is for you three. Arthur Pendragon, The Lady Morgana and Merlin." He had spoken, turning to them all specifically as he said their names.

"And what is this message?" Morgana asked, a little nervous as to how he knew their names. Though Arthur and Morgana's names were popular around Camelot, she still could not understand how he knew of Merlin's.

"You alone, Arthur, are responsible for the misfortune that has befallen Camelot," Anhora proclaimed unhappily as he looked at Arthur, his face blank with no expression. "When you killed the unicorn, you unleashed a curse." Arthur stared at the man hatefully.

"Me?! You think I'd bring drought and famine upon my own people?" He asked, angry at the outrageous accusation. "If you have put a curse on Camelot, you will lift it, or you will pay with your life." Arthur warned as he unsheathed the sword from his holder. Morgana shook her head and grabbed his hand, stopping him from pointing it at the sorcerer.

"If he has placed a curse upon Camelot, then what good would come of killing him? Then we'd have no one to stop the curse." Morgana told him, slowly pushing the sword downward. Merlin watched behind them, not really knowing what to do. He couldn't exactly harm the sorcerer. Arthur seemed to think about Morgana's words and slowly placed his sword back into its holder. Merlin decided it was his time to step in.

"Why can you not uplift the curse?" Merlin asked, trying to talk to Anhora gently, not to provoke him. "Innocent people will die if-"

"The curse was not my doing," Anhora replied bluntly. "Only you three can help uplift the curse, if not, then Camelot will suffer greatly." Arthur's brow puckered together.

"If it was I who brought the curse on Camelot, then why are Merlin and Morgana also tested?" Arthur asked, the curse upon himself he could now understand, though it infuriated him so, but why would his friends also be tested?

"I am only the Keeper of the Unicorns. I do not decide who will be tested or who will not," Anhora admitted as he slowly walked backwards. Morgana bit into her lip. _**Tests? What sort of tests? **_ Arthur noticed Anhora backing away and stepped forward.

"You are under arrest," Arthur stated as he moved to grab his shoulders. Anhora then faded and Arthur nearly fell forward. Merlin, Morgana and Arthur then turned around when they heard Anhora speak from the stop of the stairs. Morgana's eyes widened,_** but he was just there a moment ago**_.

"Until you have all completed your tests successfully and Arthur Pendragon has made amends for killing the unicorn, will the curse be lifted." Anhora explained, making Merlin frown. "If you fail any of these tests, Camelot will be damned for all eternity." His warning still frightening and deadly even after he had vanished.

* * *

_**\\Merlin/**_

**I apologise greatly for your long wait. For the people who do not know I was on holiday the past week and was unable to write up the next chapter. I'll be sure to upload a few within the next week, so don't worry there. I hope you enjoyed the changes I made and are eager to read more. Also, you guys know how I said the chapter before was my most reviewed chapter? Well, you guys **_**doubled**_** the amount of reviews. Literally. I was so overwhelmed; it has been most viewed chapter in all of fan fiction. So thank you guys SO much. I couldn't ask for better readers. **


	17. I got lost

**Wow, eleven pages guys, hope you like the chapter! :)  
**

* * *

Morgana walked down to Merlin's chambers with a concerned expression, if what Anhora had said last night was true then she, Merlin and Arthur would have to be prepared for… Well, _anything_. The tests he mentioned could have required them to do unthinkable tasks or challenges that they may not have been prepared for.

As she turned the corner she noticed the door to Merlin's chambers was already open so she slowly peeked around the door to see that Gaius and Merlin were sat at the table, heavy in discussion. She thought it would have been rude to intrude while they were eating and decided to turn around and come later, but Merlin had obviously already have seen her.

"Morgana," he called over, making her turn around. She gave them a sheepish smile.

"I was coming over to talk to you," she admitted while looking at Merlin. "But then I saw you were busy-"

"Nonsense," Gaius called as he shook his head, making Morgana blink a few times- ever since she had learnt of Merlin's powers Gaius hadn't really communicated with her, so his sudden change of heart surprised her a little. Maybe Merlin had told him to be nice? He wagered for her to come in and sit down, "come on in."

Morgana smiled once more before she entered the room and shuffled to sit next to Merlin on the bench. She attempted to hide the look of disgust when she observed what the both of them were eating. Merlin took another mouthful of the food and grimaced, Morgana thought it must have tasted as bad as it looked.

"So you two believe what this Anhora said about the curse to be true?" Gaius asked, straight to business, as he took a mouthful of the food, seeming to be oblivious to the horrible taste.

"You said there was a legend that misfortune comes to anyone who slays a unicorn," Merlin stated as he pushed his bowl away, deciding he'd rather starve than have another mouthful of whatever it was in that bowl. Morgana nodded.

"It makes sense. As soon as Arthur killed the unicorn all the crops and food started to go scarce," Morgana added with a frown. "People have been living on rice for days, not to mention the lower towns." As Morgana talked Gaius reached for his jug and filled three cups full of water. Merlin licked his lips before deciding to grab his cup and drink it, thinking it would hide the taste of his meal. After Morgana had finished talking she too also grabbed her drink and sipped at it after giving Gaius a grateful smile. As both Merlin and Morgana tasted the water they both automatically spat it back in their cups. Merlin scowled and stared at Gaius with a look of distaste.

"Where did you get this water from?" He asked as he stared at the cups in disgust, Morgana also grimaced at the after taste of the water.

"Fortunately, you forgot to empty your bath yesterday." Merlin and Morgana's faces scrunched up in repulsion.

"Ack," Merlin exclaimed as he rubbed at his tongue to get rid of the soapy taste of his old bath water. Morgana felt like doing the exact same but thought better of it, trying to keep her lady mannerisms still intact. As soon as Merlin stopped rubbing at his tongue Gaius continued with their conversation.

"What does Arthur think about the curse?" Morgana scoffed at Gaius' question.

"He's too stubborn to see that it's his own fault. I talked to him myself before I came here and he believes it to be Anhora's fault." Morgana explained while shaking her head.

"He doesn't want to admit that it was him that caused _this_," Merlin then motioned toward the uneaten meal in his bowl, "to his people." Merlin acknowledged with a frown. "He's convinced Anhora's responsible for it." Gaius hummed in response, clamping his hands together on the table.

"These _tests_," he expressed, as he moved closer to the table. "Did he ever mention what they'd be?" Gaius asked, staring at both Morgana and Merlin seriously. They both shook their heads.

"Just that if they weren't completed successfully Camelot would suffer," Merlin explained with a frown. Morgana's eyebrows puckered at Merlin's words. Gaius nodded and pushed away his meal that he had finished earlier. From seeing their finished - or rather unfinished- meals Morgana decided it was time her to go, she gave Merlin a smile and Gaius a friendly nod.

"I best be on my way," she muttered as she rose from the bench her and Merlin were sat on. Merlin frowned as he watched her prepare to leave.

"Where are you going?" He asked curiously. It was then he noted that Morgana looked ready to go on a hunt, he even noticed a tiny dagger that hung along her belt- though he wouldn't have saw it if he hadn't have been sat so close to her- which made him frown. Morgana noticed this and felt like smiling at his concerned expression while she tightened the fastening on her cloak.

"The crops are only destroyed near the castle, who's to say they are beyond it?" She confessed while she raised her eyebrow at him, knowing that she surprised him with the sudden assumption. "I was just going to have a search around." Merlin thought about her words and then laughed in disbelief, why didn't anybody else think of that? He turned to Gaius, to see what his thoughts were, and noticed he looked more displeased than impressed by Morgana's thoughts. Merlin watched as Gaius shifted on the spot and crossed his arms over another.

"Morgana, do you think that wise? When you're beyond Camelot's walls we can't guarantee your safety," he cautioned, his voice concerning. Merlin pursued his lips, Gaius had a point. The last thing he wanted was for Morgana to get hurt. But he loved Morgana's idea, he had to admit, it was well thought out. Anhora had specifically said _Camelot_ would suffer, not anybody else, so Morgana's idea could have worked. Yet with bandits and God knew what other creatures hidden in the forests, it definitely wasn't safe for Morgana to go wandering around on her own. Merlin's eyes widened as he thought of an idea. He grabbed his scarf from the other side of the table and stood up from the bench before moving over to stand next to Morgana.

"I'll go with her," Merlin proclaimed, as he wrapped the scarf around his neck, earning a look from Gaius. Morgana turned to Merlin a bit surprised; surely he would want to stay in Camelot with Arthur? Still, she couldn't help but smile up at him when he gave her a wink and a nod. Morgana always knew she could always count on Merlin.

"Very well then," Gaius said, knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince Merlin not to go. He had observed how close Merlin had gotten to Morgana since he had revealed his magic. As much as Gaius admitted he didn't like the idea of the King's ward knowing of his power, he noticed Merlin did seem to be a lot happier than he was before. Merlin grinned at Gaius appreciatively; he knew that Gaius disliked seeing him go, but he understood that Merlin couldn't just leave Morgana to go on her own. Merlin hugged his father like figure tightly, "take care." Gaius warned as he patted Merlin on the back. As they pulled away from their hug Gaius frowned, "and what of Arthur?" Merlin pursed his lips, his face absent in thought. He didn't think about who would watch over him while he was gone. _Damn_.

"Anhora said that there would be tests for all three of us," Morgana acknowledged, earning a nod from Merlin, affirming her fact was true. "My guess is they'll leave the last test for Arthur. So I'm sure a few hours won't hurt," she assured. Merlin felt mixed emotions run through his mind until finally Gaius came over and grabbed his shoulder.

"I will take care of Arthur while you two are away, it's important that you try and bring as much food back as possible." Gaius told Merlin earnestly, attempting a smile at the end of his sentence to win him over. Merlin sighed and hastily grabbed for his bag, if they were to get any food, they'd need something to put it in. He turned over to Morgana and held out the door for her.

"After you milady," he offered, making Morgana smirk. Before he walked through the door himself he glanced over to Gaius and smiled.

"Good luck, Merlin." Gaius wished.

**\\Merlin/  
**

Morgana and Merlin took the secret passageway, which Merlin had learnt about only recently, out of the castle. They didn't want to grab anybody's attention, certainly not the guards, so the back door seemed the best option. It was not long before they were out of the castle walls and proceeding toward the Darkling Woods, it was still morning, so the sun was still slowly rising from the east.

"Which direction do you think we should go?" Merlin asked as he climbed over a large log which lay on the floor. Morgana jumped over the log and then shuffled into some of the compartments that were on her belt. Merlin's eyebrows rose as he watched Morgana retrieved a small piece of parchment and slowly started to unfold it. Merlin slowed down his pace so as he was at the same walking pace as her and observed the paper she was holding with squinted eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle out loud in amazement when the paper turned out to be a delicately detailed map of the entire kingdom. Drawn from what appeared to be ink were many drawings and symbols that labelled certain parts of Camelot. From the city itself to the White Mountains, the Ridge of Ascetir, his homeland Ealdor, The Northern Plains, Mountain of Isgard, some place called Camlann and all the way to The Western Isles.

"It was a gift from Arthur, he gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday," Morgana told him as she acknowledged Merlin's certain interest toward the map, she had to admit, it was perfectly drawn and hand written. Merlin then laughed, Arthur… Do something _nice_? Understanding his shocked expression, Morgana smirked. "I know, I was just as shocked as you are now." She admitted, she then turned back to the map and tried to figure out exactly where they were. She pointed to Merlin's left, "that way leads to Cendred's kingdom," she informed. She could easily tell by the way the woods turned inwards. Merlin then observed the map and had to agree. He licked his lips and pointed to an empty space on the map.

"What's there?" He asked. Morgana frowned; she wasn't an expert of the lands of Camelot but luckily the frequent meetings she had interrupted between Uther and Arthur had taught her a few tips.

"Just some fields," she responded, earning a grin from Merlin. He grabbed her hand and began to jog in the direction of the fields he had pointed out on the map- if there were to be any plants or fruits they would be there. Morgana laughed and ran along with him, not too bothered by the state her dress was currently receiving. She had to admit, right there, running through the woods with Merlin by her side, it was relaxing. Everything that was normally on her mind had slowly soothed away and she felt contempt- _joyous_ in fact.

After a while they both came to a stop, both their chests heaving up and down heavily- attempting to fill their lungs with as much oxygen as possible. Merlin was hunched over, his hands on his legs, breathing in and out erratically. He shook his head and looked up to Morgana, who at the time was also trying to control her breathing pattern while leant against a tree. It was by looking at Morgana did Merlin see something that made his mouth drop to the floor. After Morgana took one last heavy breath she looked up and frowned at Merlin's shocked expression. She turned around to see what he was staring at and much like Merlin, her mouth too was left agape. An apple. A perfect and healthy red apple was hanging off one of the branches. And there were a few more just above it, enough to feed around five people for three days.

"An apple tree?" Morgana huffed out, astonished as she picked the apple from the branch and observed it right before her eyes. Merlin laughed out loud.

"Always with the apples," he joked while gazing at the red balls of heaven. While he stared at them he couldn't help but think about just how strangely _lucky_ they were to find the apples, and how they just _appeared out of nowhere_. Merlin's smile slowly faltered. Maybe it was too good to be true. "Morgana…" He uttered, grabbing her attention. She perceived his facial expression and frowned; Merlin shook his head and pulled her away from the tree. "Maybe this was a trap. Maybe Anhora set this up," he explained, before turning back to the apple tree and looking at it with distaste.

"A trap," Morgana repeated his words. "Merlin, it's an apple tree." Merlin hummed in response and still kept clear from the tree. "There are only a few apples there wh-" A loud sob cut Morgana's sentence off. Both Merlin and Morgana stood in silence, the sound of the sob making them go quiet. Morgana's eyes brows furrowed as she looked around them, there was nobody, surely she hadn't imagined it? But guessing from Merlin's startled expression it wasn't just her who heard it.

"Hello?" Merlin called out, his hand at the ready for any spell he might have to conjure. Morgana's hand slowly grabbed for the tiny knife which she had hidden in her belt. Another sob was heard further in the forest, Merlin looked at Morgana and they both turned to the direction of the noise. Slowly, they both crept toward the noise, their faces scrunched up whenever they stepped on a twig. Merlin licked his lips, his whole body tense as they moved closer toward the cry.

As the sobs gradually became louder, Morgana noticed that it was a child crying, her grasp on the knife tightened as they peeked around a large tree. Her grip on the knife soon loosened when she observed two little boys, no older than five, hidden underneath the vines of the tree. She turned back to Merlin, unsure what to do but then looked back at the crying child. She frowned as she instantly crouched before them and grabbed the one who was crying into a comforting hug. Merlin's eyebrows arched as he watched Morgana relax the crying boy in her arms. The other, who was still hidden in the corner, looked too shaken to speak and Merlin regarded him with saddened eyes. What they hell were they doing alone in the woods?

"Merlin, what do we do, they're lost." Morgana asked as the boy in her arms slowly calmed down and the sobs began to quieten. Merlin shook his head as he joined them in a crouched position. Morgana looked into the crying boy's eyes and noticed how famished he appeared, "they look starving." She admitted, noticing their thin figures. She bit into her lip and without any thought she opened the compartment in her belt and retrieved an apple which she placed in there earlier for safe keeping. Merlin watched Morgana and frowned, realising that was the apple she had collected for herself back home.

"Morgana-"

"If they don't eat now, they'll die." She assured before she rubbed off the little piece of dirt from the apple and cut it in half with her little knife. She understood why Merlin disliked her idea- the apple would be the only food she would see in days, a sacrifice on her behalf as she would have no food herself- and yet, even at that thought, Morgana could not have brought herself to leave the boys in the state they found them. So she passed the shared pieces of apple toward the boys. As soon as the fruit touched their palms they were eating the apple pieces like rabid animals- proving just how starving they were. Merlin watched the boys with a crest fallen expression, he had wanted to help the boys, he really did, but the thought of the Morgana not having any food for herself as well reached his thoughts. "I'm sorry, Merlin." Morgana said, knowing he didn't approve of her actions.

"What for," he replied, giving her a little smile. "You did the right thing," he admitted.

"Indeed she did," a voice bellowed behind them. They both turned around swiftly, looking alerted at the sudden deep voice. It was Anhora. Morgana stood up along with Merlin and stared at Anhora expectantly. Anhora smiled at Morgana, which she had to admit was rather unusual, and clapped his hands. "You have passed the test," he announced, staring at Morgana with a pleased expression. Merlin's eyes widened at his words and he looked to Morgana with a wide smile, though she continued to watch Anhora with a confused stare.

"Why?" She asked. What had she done?

"You sacrificed your own food for the sake of the two children's health; this shows kindness and a compassionate heart." Morgana listened to his words intently and turned around to look at the two boys, they were gone. Morgana blinked and turned around to Anhora.

"So, it was all a test?" She asked, completely baffled. Anhora simply nodded.

"If the next test is succeeded, Camelot will be rewarded." He informed while looking between Merlin and Morgana with a blank expression. He then raised his staff and pointed it toward Merlin's bag. "Wælfyllu," he uttered making the end of the staff glow an electrical blue. Merlin squinted at the bright light and then noticed a sudden change of weight along his left side; his left eyebrow rose as he opened the bag and saw many of the red apples from the apple tree. He laughed lightly and Morgana smirked, they turned back to Anhora but he was already gone.

"Not one for good byes," Morgana remarked jokingly, Merlin chuckled and then observed the many apples in his bag once more, noting there were more apples in his bag than what were on the tree earlier, so he figured it must have been a minor reward for Morgana's actions. He couldn't help but shake his head, a smile plastered on his face. Morgana had succeeded the first test. He coughed awkwardly when he glanced at Morgana, who was staring at him peculiarly.

"I think we best um," he scratched at his head gawkily and pointed behind him, "go back to Camelot. Arthur probably thinks I've spent the day in the tavern," he figured with a roll of his eyes. Morgana nodded and they both started to walk back in the direction to Camelot...

"What you did back there," he muttered, the tone in his voice light and his expression serene. He looked up from the ground and glimpsed at Morgana as they trudged through the woods, she seemed to be listening to him carefully, waiting for his next words with interest. "You've got a good heart Morgana," he confessed, a slight red tint formed among his cheeks, which thankfully Morgana didn't detect.

"Since I've been in Camelot no one has ever been this nice to me," Morgana admitted as she observed the sun that was settling in the west. She wasn't saying that other people in her life weren't nice to her, on the contrary, she had Gwen and Uther and all the knights.. And _Arthur_, sometimes. Yet they didn't treat her so... She couldn't think of a real word to describe it. Just that Merlin was different. She paused and frowned, "why are you so different?" Merlin was a little taken back by her response but none the less his forehead wrinkled in thought.

"I guess," he started, "when I'm with you I can be myself more," he acknowledged with a hidden smile. Morgana grinned, understanding exactly what he had meant.

**\\Merlin/  
**

By the time they had neared Camelot's walls it had turned dark. _**Yeah, only a few hours. **_Merlin thought to himself, he had hoped Gaius had watched Arthur carefully. Merlin sighed when he noticed the hidden passageway they had left the castle from was now guarded by many knights. _**Damn**_. Merlin sighed and searched around for any other way of entry.

"What about through the grain store," Morgana suggested pointing to the door as the very end of the castle walls; if they were lucky they could have possibly snuck through. Merlin nodded and then shuffled past Morgana to get to the door, giving her a wave when the coast was clear. After she checked around her to see if any guards were around, she crept up toward Merlin who was waiting by the door.

"It's locked?" She acknowledged, frowning as she checked again to see if the guards were coming back.

"Not for long," Merlin remarked as he lifted his hand toward the handle, "Aliese." He whispered making the door open with a creek, Merlin nodded, "okay," he muttered mainly to himself, and grabbed Morgana from behind, making her gasp- as she was too busy on look out and had her back turned to Merlin- and pulled her into the passageway. "We're in," he stated, looking around and feeling familiar with their surroundings. Morgana was too shocked by his sudden touch across her back to have thought clearly, it was only until Merlin slowly started to wander off that she was brought back to reality.

They slowly made their way through the corridor; Merlin was hesitant for any guards that might have been in patrol in the room. Eventually they made their way to the end of the corridor and heard whispers; Morgana frowned as she tried to concentrate on the voices, and slowly peeked her head around the corner of the wall.

"Who are you?" Morgana recognised the voice was Arthur's, she hid back around the corner and rolled her eyes, Merlin looked at her confused.

"It's Arthur," she told him with her voice low. Merlin's shoulders slackened and he slammed his head against the wall. **_Arthur.. Really?!_**

"Who's he with?" He asked as he thought how unbelievable it was for _Arthur_ to be there- out of all people. Morgana shook her head.

"Not too sure," she replied before she attempted for another look. She could vaguely see Arthur with his sword drawn at a shabby man, who, from what she could see, was attempting to steal a bag of rice.

"Ow, ow, ow," she had heard Merlin cry out loud behind her, she turned around, looking at him with wide eyes as she noticed him rubbing at his foot- _if Arthur heard them_- she covered her hand over his mouth and stared at him incredulously, warning him to shut up. "Cramp," he had mumbled through her hand, pointing to his foot. Morgana stared at him in disbelief, sometimes he could have been the clumsiest –

"_Mer_lin," they heard Arthur exclaim behind them. They both turned around slowly to see Arthur looking at them both with an alarmed expression. Merlin then realised what it probably looked like to Arthur, him and Morgana together in a dark corridor, her hand over his mout-

"_Sire_," Merlin exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock as he swiftly took the hand off of his mouth and gave Arthur a sheepish smile. "I was jus-" Merlin then looked to Morgana for help, she licked her lips trying to think of an excuse quickly while she watched Arthur watch them with furrowed eyebrows.

"I got lost," she admitted, knowing that the excuse was possibly the worst lie she had ever told. Arthur crossed his arms and turned to Merlin, his jaw tensed.

"Got lost?" Arthur asked, his brow furrowing.

"I was taking a walk and Merlin here found me," she replied, trying to make her face more serious, in hope that Arthur would actually by her story- well, he was known to be totally oblivious, heck, he was even fooled by Merlin. Merlin looked between Arthur and Morgana, watching as they battled into one of their 'staring competitions' again. Merlin frowned.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked Arthur, hoping that the change in conversation would allow Arthur to forget about them two. Arthur stopped staring at Morgana and turned to Merlin with a stunned expression.

"I thought this would be the first place Anhora would attack," Arthur reasoned, pointing to Merlin as he raised his chest. "And Merlin, if you ever question me again, I'll see to you in the stocks for –"

"Then who were you talking to?" Morgana questioned before Arthur could go on another rant, and threat Merlin with more chores. _**Thank you Morgana**_, Merlin thought as he breathed out shakily- a week in the stocks would have been torture. Arthur pursed his lips and pinched at his brow.

"A man named Evan was trying to steal some of the grain," he told them. Morgana frowned, she understood people were hungry, but to steal food that was not theirs to take… Arthur sighed and moved to lean against the wall, "he said he had two children that had not eaten for two days, I could not let him leave without some food." The frown on Morgana's face faltered when Arthur mentioned the two children- **_just like back in the forest._**

"You gave him some of the grain?" Merlin asked, pleased with Arthur for not being a stubborn ass for once. Arthur scoffed at Merlin's surprised face and punched him in the chest. Merlin winched and then they started to go off onto their usual banter. Morgana however was too preoccupied with the shadowed figured that she noticed enter the grain store.

"Arthur," she tried whispering to him, yet he was too busy arguing with Merlin, saying that he will have him in the stocks for his attitude. Morgana then punched him in the arm, "_Arthur_." She repeated his name again, this time her tone in voice harsher and louder. He turned to her quizzically, "there's somebody in the room." She told him before she walked out of the corridor they were all still cramped in and searched around the room. Arthur frowned, only just realising what she had said and then turned to Merlin, giving him a '_come on then'_ expression before he too followed Morgana, his hand next to the handle of his sword.

They searched around the room, all of them silent as they attempted to hear any sign of movement. Arthur moved to the front subconsciously and Merlin stayed back with Morgana.

"Got lost?" Merlin whispered in her ear while looking around the room. Morgana rolled her head and moved closer to Merlin.

"I couldn't think of anything else," she whispered back with a frown. What else could she have said, in the…_awkward.._ position they were in, it wasn't as if she could have said anything else. "Besides, he's seemed to have believed it," she offered, giving Merlin a smirk.

"There," Arthur pointed out, aiming his arm to the shadow in the corner of the room. "You there," he exclaimed as he stood up straight. "Show yourself." Morgana, Merlin and Arthur watched as the shadow moved and a figure walked out of the shadow.

"Arthur Pendragon," the hooded figure, who was revealed to be Anhora, spoke lowly. "You passed your first test," he informed them all. Arthur eyebrow's rose in shock, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it to Anhora.

"What test?" Arthur asked as he moved the sword closer to Anhora.

"Much alike the Lady Morgana's, you thought of others before yourself," Anhora replied, making Morgana tense behind Arthur. Arthur spun around to look at Morgana and Merlin.

"You said you were lost," he accused. Merlin turned to the floor and Morgana shrugged her shoulders making Arthur sigh before he turned to Anhora again. He would deal with them later.

"Two tests are to be fulfilled if you wish for Camelot's state to be restored," Anhora explained before he slammed his staff to the floor and disappeared once more before allowing Arthur to ask any more questions. Arthur threw his hands in the air and dropped them to his sides, what had just happened. First of all he caught a man trying to steal food, then he finds _Merlin_ and Morgana, doing whatever they were doing in the corridor, and then Anhora told him he had completed a test... He needed to lie down.

"Arthu-" Merlin decided to speak before he was interrupted.

"_You two_," Arthur exclaimed harshly as he sheathed his sword back into its holder.

"We can explain," Merlin said quickly before he opened up his bag and showed Arthur the many apples Anhora had treated them with, Arthur's eyes widened.

"Me and Merlin decided to find some food, outside of Camelot." Morgana began to explain and Arthur continued to stare at the apples.

"And you were tested?" Arthur realised, feeling a tiny bit guilty for yelling at them. "You didn't have to lie," he told them honestly, looking between them both. "I would have understood." Merlin's right eyebrow rose, _**yeah right**_.

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**\\Merlin/**

**And that's a wrap for this chapter guys. I hope you liked it, I wasn't too sure when I re-read it, so I suppose I've got to wait and see what you guys think. Remember that Merlin still has to do his test too as well, so you can look forward to that. ;) I was given some really nice and lovely reviews by some people last time but they were signed out, or anon, meaning I couldn't respond to them. So, lilmiss, Kreeger, newboy and Thunden Syrem thank you so much for your lovely reviews. Seriously, they were all lovely and amazing. Thank you. **

**To Alexandria, who asked 'If Morgana won't be the enemy in this series of yours, then who will be the main enemy?', my answer to that is. Well, _spoilers_. But let's just say, if Morgana was a good guy, then would certain villain's die? I mean, in the show, Morgana didn't meet Nimueh – **_**who is a triple goddess**_**- so… Well, that's all I'm going to say. Sorry :) **


	18. Why did he always go alone?

**I cannot thank you enough for all the amazing and lovely reviews you guys gave me last time. I'm over a hundred reviews now, which is insane in my opinion. So thank you for your amazing support.**

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Merlin's stomach grumbled loudly while he stood behind Arthur who sat gazing into space. Both Morgana and Arthur had decided to share the apples they were awarded from Anhora and give them to the people, meaning only a small portion of food was left for them. Merlin shook his head, collecting any spare food was difficult- to say the least- and yet Arthur dismissed the thought of having any.

"I have lost my appetite," Arthur proclaimed as he leaned back on his chair. Merlin pointed to the plate in front of him.

"You have to eat something," Merlin urged as he turned to Arthur questioningly.

"I can't," Arthur replied with a shake of his head. "Even when we gave the apples to the people, they still starve. I cannot eat when I know others don't have the luxury." He slowly pushed his plate away and rose from his chair, giving Merlin a pat on the back, as he moved toward his bed. He slumped down with a sigh, pinching at his nose, as the continuous banging in his head continued to give him a headache. Merlin gulped and glanced at his own reflection on the shining cutlery, his face had turned gaunt and he was perhaps a little pale. "Do you really believe I am responsible for the curse?" Arthur asked with his face in his palms. Merlin turned away from the sight of his own reflection, not needing a reminder as to how hungry he was, and looked to Arthur with a dejected expression.

"Anhora said we would be rewarded if we passed any tests," Merlin answered honestly, making Arthur look to him with an engrossed expression. "Yesterday you gave the man some spare food and then this morning…" Merlin paused and sighed, "the water supply was back." Arthur's jaw tensed as he understood what Merlin was assuming. Neither said anything after that, Arthur continued to watch his manservant, trying to understand from his expressions how Merlin felt about the situation. Was he disappointed, upset… Angry? After all, Arthur was given enough proof to understand the shortage of food and water was his doing, but he also dragged Merlin and Morgana into the situation as well.

"What you and Morgana did yesterday," Arthur began as he turned back down to the floor, twisting and turning the ring on his finger. "It was a good idea," he admitted, making Merlin look to him with a hidden smirk.

"We didn't want to tell yo-" Merlin began to speak, his expression guilty, before Arthur raised his hand for him to stop speaking.

"Neither of you need to explain yourselves, you brought food back for the people and only left for the intention of others…" Arthur explained, his voice light and understanding. "I'm just annoyed I didn't think of the idea myself," he admitted while shaking his head. He leaned forward on his bed, his arms leaning on his thighs. "We're going to the forest first thing in the morning." Arthur guaranteed which made Merlin's left eyebrow rise in confusion. "I'll tell Morgana to meet us here. Maybe we can pick up Anhora's trail." Arthur then stood up from his bed and walked back to the table, where he acknowledged his meal had turned cold. "Whatever it takes." Merlin smiled at the news, _**finally**_. Merlin then shook his head and prodded the plate closer to Arthur again.

"Ok, but you have to eat. You won't be able to help anyone if you're too weak to pass the test," he explained, smirking when he noticed Arthur grimaced at the meal in front of him. Merlin then turned around as nonchalant as he possibly could, placing the bowl of left over soup on top of Arthur's draws, as he tried to suppress his laughter. _**Wait till you get a taste of that**_. Merlin joked to himself as he watched Arthur slowly put some food on his spoon and lift it to his mouth. Merlin turned around quickly, so as Arthur didn't notice he was staring at him, and bit into his cheek to stop him from laughing. Merlin heard Arthur chew at the meat in the soup and bit into his cheek harder – _**this is too funny. **_

"What kind of meat is this?" Arthur asked as he raised his spoon and showed Merlin a piece of meat balanced on it. "It has a very strange texture," he added as he slowly chewed at the meat. Merlin coughed to hide away his laughter.

"It's pork," he lied as he attempted an innocent expression. Arthur frowned.

"This isn't pork," Arthur assured. "It's far too stringy. What is it? It's…" Arthur then placed his spoon onto the bowl calmly and looked at Merlin, very displeased. "It's rat, isn't it?" Merlin openly laughed at Arthur's calm tone, he could definitely see how outraged he was. Merlin opened his mouth to talk but couldn't…

"Try," Merlin then laughed once more. "Try not to think about it." Arthur's eyes then widened before he grabbed the cup to his side and downed as much wine as he could to get rid of the retched taste. He then breathed in deeply before handing Merlin the cup, smirking to himself as he watched Merlin put it away. He rose from his chair and looked down at the plate.

"Look at me. I'm being rude," Arthur proclaimed once Merlin turned back to him. Merlin looked back at him with a frown. "I forgot that I'm not the only one who has a trial to complete," Arthur then grabbed at Merlin's tunic and pushed him into Arthur's chair. "I mean, like you said," Arthur continued as he watched Merlin pull a face at the food on the plate. "_You won't be able to help anyone if you're too weak to pass the test_," he recalled, with a sarcastic grin. Merlin slowly grabbed the spoon and scooped up a mouthful. "Mmmmmm," Arthur imitated mockingly as he pushed the spoon in Merlin's hand toward his mouth. Merlin opened his mouth and chewed at the meat, he instantly felt like being sick. Merlin covered his mouth with his hand.

"It.. It's actually pretty tasty," he remarked as he slowly chomped down the vile food. Arthur scoffed as he moved toward the large dish Merlin had placed down on his drawers.

"Well, I'm glad you like it because," he then slammed down the dish which was completely full of the soup, and opened the lid. Even the smell made Merlin feel nauseous. "There's plenty more." A soft knock on the door interrupted the heavy stare Arthur was piercing Merlin with. "Enter," Arthur called over his shoulder. Arthur smirked to Merlin, messing up his hair roughly, before he turned to the door. "Morgana?" Arthur addressed, watching her enter the room. Merlin's eyes widened and he spat out the food, _**no way am I letting Morgana eat this**_, he admitted to himself before quietly getting out of his chair and hiding the food under the table. Morgana noticed Merlin sneaking around behind Arthur's back but dismissed it.

"I hate to ask, but-" Before Morgana could even finish off her sentence Arthur walked toward her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Nonsense," he replied rather enthusiastically. "You can join Merl-" Arthur then noticed that the bowl of soup was gone, only a smirking Merlin sat at the table. "-_in_," Arthur finished his name with a frown. Morgana frowned, what the hell was going on between them? Merlin continued to smirk at Arthur and coughed before he rose from the chair.

"Milady," he said to Morgana, knowing he was making Arthur even more furious. Arthur searched around the room.

"Now Merlin, you can't tell me you finished off all that food," Arthur stated before he noticed a quick shimmer of light from beneath the table. Merlin's eyes widened as Arthur crouched to grab the bowl. As he was crouched Merlin turned to Morgana.

'_Don't eat it,' _he mimed to her before Arthur grabbed the bowl and placed it on the table.

"Trying to hide all the food are we?" Arthur figured before motioning Morgana to come and sit next to Merlin, all the while giving Merlin a sly grin. Morgana, still frowning at the hidden warning Merlin had given her, sat down wearily. Arthur opened the lid on the pot once more and plopped some of the soup onto Morgana's plate. If Morgana wasn't starving she wouldn't had even glanced at the food for more than two seconds, the smell was revolting, but her growing hunger and rumbling stomach was just pleading for a mouthful of any sorts of food. After sharing the soup between Merlin and Morgana, Arthur sat himself down opposite to Morgana. Morgana raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" She asked suspiciously to Arthur before eating any of the food before her. If he thought she was going to be-

"No, of course not Morgana." Arthur dismissed, faking a hurt expression. He turned to Merlin, "ask Merlin," he then turned to glare at Merlin, giving him the, '_if you dare tell her, you will be in the stocks for five_ weeks' expression. Merlin pulled at his tunic and nodded at Arthur. Morgana watched Merlin; her face contorted as she then scooped up a mouthful of soup. Arthur had to look down at the table otherwise he would have laughed in her face- this was just payback for the amount of times she had bet him when sword fighting. Literally millimetres before the soup touched Morgana's mouth Merlin snatched the spoon from her hand and put it into his own mouth. Morgana had to blink a few times before realising what had happened, whereas Arthur was staring at Merlin in disbelief. Merlin grimaced at he swallowed the food quickly.

"_Mer_lin, you idiot."

"What's wrong with the soup?" Morgana asked as she inspected the soup, grabbing the spoon that Merlin had dropped, and going to have a tiny taste of it herself to see what all the fuss was about.

"No, Morgana." Merlin warned, before taking the spoon off her. "It's rat meat." Morgana frowned as she pushed away the plate before looking back at Arthur incredulously. However Arthur was too busy glaring at Merlin for what seemed the millionth time within that hour. He smacked him around the head, making Merlin yell in pain.

"That's for being a girl, Merlin." Arthur stated as Morgana lifted from her seat and moved to walk out the door. Merlin sighed, rubbing at his head as he watched Morgana leave the room. Arthur also noticed Morgana's absence and turned back to Merlin. Arthur's eyebrows rose as he realised something. "Go tell her to meet us tomorrow morning, quickly." Merlin glanced at Arthur, _**seriously?**_

"Why can't you?" Merlin asked.

"I can't go to her now," Arthur realised and then stood up. "Besides, she's not angry with you." Merlin rolled his eyes before getting up and running through the door to chase Morgana.

Merlin ran down the corridors, his hand still rubbing at his head where Arthur had hit him, searching for Morgana. _**Good going Arthur. **_In the corner of his eyes he managed a glimpse of the familiar blue dress Morgana had worn earlier. He smiled before he ran after her.

"Morgana," he called, grabbing her attention and making her stop.

"Merlin," she replied back as she crossed her arms. Merlin gave her a sheepish smile and stopped in front of her. "Thank you," she said before he could say or do anything. "Arthur's always been trying to get me back," Morgana admitted with a smirk. "All those years beating him at sword fighting and yet he still thinks he can get me." Merlin laughed, pleased she wasn't upset.

"I just came to tell you that me and Arthur are going to the forest tomorrow," he started, earning a more serious expression from Morgana. "We're going after Anhora and I thought you'd want to come along," he figured, making her nod.

"I'll go with you," she agreed. "I'll meet you in Arthur's chambers?" She asked with an arched eyebrow. Merlin nodded and they both smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then Merlin," Morgana said before giving him a quick hug, completely baffling and unexpected to Merlin. Before he could hug her back she was already walking back toward her chambers.

"Goodbye, Morgana."

_**\\Merlin/**_

Like they had scheduled, Morgana had entered Arthur's chambers in the morning. She prepared herself with suitable clothing, a loose blouse that was tightened with plating that covered her waist, long knee high leather boots and vambraces- just in case. She searched around the room and noticed Merlin was busy packing objects into a bag while Arthur was putting on a shirt in the corner of the room. Merlin was in his normal attire, a dark blue tunic with a red scarf whereas Arthur, who walked back into the main part of the room, was wearing a red leather jacket complete with trousers and boots.

"Right, Merlin, have you packed everything we need?" Arthur asked as he picked up his leather gloves from the table and slowly put them on, all the while avoiding Morgana's stare.

"I've got the only food we have left," Merlin announced as he closed the bag and lifted it around his shoulder. He noticed Morgana and gave her a smile.

"Well then, we best get to Anhora quickly." Arthur responded as he charged through the door, allowing Morgana and Merlin to follow.

**_. . . . . . . _**

After an hour's worth of travelling, Merlin, Morgana and Arthur jumped off their horses – tying them to the trees with ropes- and began their search for Anhora. They didn't specifically know _where_ to search, so they were left scoping the forest, trying to find anything that may lead them to the sorcerer.

"I don't know what I'm searching for," Merlin called over to Arthur, who was knee deep in vines. Arthur sighed frustratingly and cut at the vines with his sword.

"You're looking for footprints or broken branches," Arthur replied, grunting when a branch hit him in the face, which unluckily for him, Morgana noticed. Arthur huffed and continued to search the ground, "anything that would indicate someone passed that…" Arthur then saw something hidden behind a tree. He paused, making Morgana turn to him, and he pointed to the direction of which he saw something. Morgana frowned, not seeing anything. Arthur shook his head and chased after the _thing _anyway, leaving Merlin and Morgana behind. Morgana watched as Arthur sprinted up a hill and beyond some trees, she sighed and looked for Merlin.

"Merlin," she called out, seeing him at the other end of the forest looking up some trees. He heard her voice and turned, observing her anxious expression, and jogged up to her. "C'mon," she responded, not explaining anything as she began to run in the direction Arthur had. "Arthur spotted something and ran off," Morgana breathed out as she climbed a rock. "He looked pretty startled, so I'm guessing-"

"He saw Anhora," Merlin finished off her sentence with a huff- _**why did he always go alone?**_

"Merlin, Morgana. He's here," they heard Arthur shout from the distance. Morgana searched around, trying to spot where Arthur was, but there was no use, the forest was covered in many trees and vines, there would be no way of finding him.

"Merlin?" Morgana said his name, not knowing what to do. He bit into his lip, not knowing himself, until an idea formed in his head. He could use magic.

"Forþ fleoge," he whispered, feeling an energy surge through his body. Morgana watched as the wind quickly started to pick up and the leaves on the trees blew in one direction. Merlin opened his eyes and observed which way they flew. "That way," Merlin assured before grabbing her hand and running in the direction the leaves were blowing.

As they ran in the direction of the blowing leaves, Merlin's heart raced, Arthur had the tendency to run off on his own a lot. As the wind slowly calmed down Morgana and Merlin slowed to a stop, searching around them.

"He should be around here," Merlin assured, before doubting if his spell had gone wrong.

"Over there," Morgana whispered to him before she jumped down a stone and ran to the familiar red leather jacket she knew Arthur was wearing. From Merlin's point of view, it looked like Arthur had gone mad. He was searching around himself, going around in circles with his sword raised.

"I saw him," Arthur told Morgana as he continued to look around the forest. Merlin eventually caught up with them and also searched their whereabouts. "He was sat right there," Arthur exclaimed, pointing his sword at the large stone behind him. Merlin frowned, his body tense. _**Perhaps this is another trap.**_

"Maybe it wasn't him, maybe you ju-" Morgana went to speak but was interrupted by Arthur.

"No," he argued frustrated, "it was definitely him." Merlin didn't think Arthur was lying, he trusted Arthur with his life, but being there- surrounded by the eerie dark trees and light fog that covered their feet- was more than enough to make his hairs stand on end. A twig snapped in the distance, and all three of them tensed, looking around them anxiously. They all paused, trying to listen to any other signs of movement. But there was none. Merlin breathed out shakily.

"Maybe he le-"

"_Ahhhhhh!_" From nowhere yells were heard, surrounding them everywhere. Merlin licked his lips as he watched around twelve large and armoured men charge at them from behind the trees. Arthur's eyes widened as he pushed Merlin and Morgana behind him as he unsheathed his sword. His eyes didn't know where to look there were so many of them… Three against twelve… How where they going to survive this?

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**Dun dun duuunn. Okay, I think that was a terrible ending. I'm not sure if it was cheesy or if I just hate cliffhangers… BUT THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. The reviews, the alerts, the favourites, even the amount of views I've been getting for this is just absolutely amazing. I have no words. I know it has been near enough two weeks since I last posted, and I sincerely apologize, I've had three exams since then and I was stuck at my nan's with all the snow going on an everything- meaning no internet I'm afraid. Hopefully, I'm off school tomorrow, which means another chapter will be on its way. (Happy days, aha). To the anonymous reviews, Newboy, Kreeger and M.G.B, I will put my replies to you on my profile page as some of them are extremely long and would take up a lot of words on this fanfic. I'm sorry.**

**But thank you for the amazing support. And I hope you're excited about the next chapter!**


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